Do you have to always be right? Did your dad? Has God placed someone in your life who argues more about being right than about being honest? I found that that person was put right in front of me to show me a tendency in me, that God wanted to remove.
HONESTY: The courage to BE THE TRUTH in word, and in thought, and in action.
Chracters of Courage working definition – charactersofcourage.com
When a man begins to bend the truth about the moments leading up to, or the thoughts that contributed to his remarks – that turn out to be inaccurate, the “integrity of his vessel” begins to be compromised. While the word integrity means “adhering to a code or moral, or artistic values,” it also refers to, “the quality or state of being complete or undivided.”
In the concept of Honesty, the word integrity uses both of the above definitions, it relates to a moral code… being the truth, and the complete picture of what the truth is. Your integrity, like that of a ship, has a wholeness to it. If you are dishonest, then your “ship” has a hole in the keel and is taking on water. Your integrity is no longer intact, and while a ship can take on some water and still float it is a practice in futility to continually compromise the integrity of the ship that is keeping you afloat.
“The righteous who walks in his integrity – blessed are his children after him!”
Proverbs 20:7
One of the reasons for ‘blessed are his children after him!’ is because your child(ren) are looking to be like you. A man of integrity is blessed, not only because of his integrity, but because it honors God who then returns the favor, and your children will see this and seek it themselves!
I have often told my children, “Being right is not as important as being kind.” When you are wrong, it does not compromise your integrity. A ship may head the wrong direction, but it is still afloat, the same is true about your relationships.
Seek honesty before you seek to be right. It’s hard, but you can do it! Plus, its a great example for your children.