Honest Bones

In all things [show] yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility.

Titus 2:7

Rachel Rohanna, a high school freshman in Pennsylvania, won a regional golf tournament by having the lowest score—even after being assessed a two-stroke penalty for hitting the wrong ball. Once she discovered she had mistakenly hit another player’s ball, she called a penalty on herself and informed the tournament officials. Her grandfather, a teaching pro, later said, “I know Rachel. She plays fair.”

In the game of golf, players keep their own scores. That means integrity—a self-imposed honor code—is the rule of the day. How nice it would be if integrity were the rule of the day at every level of life. It should be, but unfortunately it is not. Honesty, sincerity, integrity—these should be traits of the person who traffics in truth as a follower of Jesus Christ. When Jesus first met Nathanael, He said of him, “There’s a real Israelite, not a false bone in his body” (John 1:47, The Message). What a wonderful assessment of someone’s character! Make it your mission in life to have people say of you, “I know you—you always play fair.”

Being an honest person means you never have to remember who you were or what you said when you were with someone.

Character is always lost when a high ideal is sacrificed on the altar of conformity and popularity.

CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON