THE PLEASURE OF HONESTY

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.

Proverbs 24:26        

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Is there anything as loving as a kiss?

I don’t know about you but there is something innately special about the contact of lips, one unto the other. Whether it’s to seal an uniquely intimate love between two people choosing to be companions for life or to continue a legacy of kisses between parents and children that began the moment that child was placed in their parent’s arms or to mark the affection felt between close friends, the kiss is unrivaled in the love, joy and pleasure that it brings when exchanged between two people.

The scriptures talk about the kiss and encourage us to use in it our fellowship with others. Look at these particular exhortations:

Greet one another with a kiss of love. 1 Peter 5:14

Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. 1 Thessalonians 5:26

Greet one another with a holy kiss. Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12

Such was the warm, tender, caring nature of the kiss and the special significance it had when exchanged between two people. This is why Jesus had this to say to His betrayer, Judas:

While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” Luke 22:47-48

Judas, who could have chosen any number of means to deceive and show his unfaithfulness toward Jesus, violated the very intimate nature of the kiss through his dishonest attitude and infidelity toward the One who had chosen him to be one of the Twelve.

Of interest today is one small proverb from Solomon as we tie together the intended nature of the kiss and the abusive use of it by Judas. Look at this verse:

An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. Proverbs 24:26

There has been an old saying around for some time now that goes like this:

“Honesty is the best policy.”

When it comes to not only dealing with others, but doing so knowing the Lord is watching our every move, this saying is one we should always adopt. There is no room for dishonesty in life for when we get right down to it, it’s nothing but sinful and wicked. I mean, how else could you describe what Judas did to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, setting the wheels turning that led to Jesus being crucified on Calvary’s cross? Betrayal is dark and bitter and evil, unpleasing to whoever experiences it.

Honesty on the other hand has a sweetness that Solomon compares to a kiss on the lips. There’s something amazingly refreshing and exciting when we experience honesty, isn’t there?

For example, you’re at the store and the cashier gives you too much money back in the exchange. You stop and tell them what happened, making the transaction right by returning what wasn’t rightfully yours. The cashier smiles at you and thanks you for your honesty. That smile is the same as if they had just been given a loving kiss from someone else. 

Maybe you’re out and you see someone walking toward a store and fumbling around in their purse while they’re walking. You see some money fall onto the ground unbeknownst to the person who continues to walk forward. You hurry forward, pick up the money, and then rush to the person returning it. The person looks at you with amazement, touched by your honesty. You could have kept the money and no one would have known any different, no one except the person who would later be unable to find their cash and the Lord who watched the matter unfold from the start. The person who got their money back gushes with gratitude, marveling at your integrity. You are smiling with an inner warmth that can only come from the Holy Spirit within you sending a message that you had done well and that the Lord was well pleased.

These are just a couple of examples that can and do happen, examples that display the power and pleasure that comes from honesty, honesty that when exercised, is as Solomon describes, like a kiss on the lips. 

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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