In the King James Version of the bible, the word "honest"
occurs only 7 times, being translated from three different Greek words, all
found in the "new testament" (not once in the "old testament").
Five of those verses translate the word "honest" from the Greek word "kalos,"
which means "beautiful, but chiefly good, i.e. valuable or virtuous."
Following are the five verses:
"But that on the good ground are they, which in an
honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth
fruit with patience" [Luke 8:15].
"Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things
honest in the sight of all men" [Rom. 12:17].
"Providing for honest things, not only in the
sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men" [2 Cor. 8:21].
"Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should
appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though
we be as reprobates" [2 Cor. 13:7].
"Having your conversation honest among the
Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by
your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of
visitation" [1 Peter 2:12].
I do not think that it is necessary to define how you and I
would interpret how we use the word "honest" in our world today in the 21st
century. We know if we are honest with ourselves and with others. We also know
when we are dishonest with ourselves and with others. I think that a little
story that was shared with me, very well establishes the principle of honesty.
The author is unknown to me.
THE SEED
An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was
time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his
children, he decided to do something different. He called young people in the
kingdom together one day.
He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the
next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you." The children were
shocked, but the emperor continued. "I am going to give each one of you a
seed today - one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and
come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed.
I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be
the next emperor."
One boy, named Ling, was there that day and he, like the
others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his mother the story.
She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered
it, carefully. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown.
After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to
talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept
checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks
went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Ling
didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.
Six months went by--still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew
he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had
nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting
for his seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom
brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he
wasn't going to take an empty pot. But his mother asked him to be honest about
what happened.
Ling felt sick at his stomach, but he knew his mother was
right. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at
the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful--in all
shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other
children laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, "Hey, nice
try."
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted
the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great
plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today one
of you will be appointed the next emperor!"
All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the
room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front.
Ling was terrified. He thought, "The emperor knows I'm a
failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. "My
name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him.
The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling,
and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!"
Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed.
How could he be the new emperor?
Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave
everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring
it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds that would not grow. All of
you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.
When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted
another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and
honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will
be the new emperor!"
Let us pray that the leaders of the world will be honest with
themselves and with others. Let us pray that the people of our country will also
be that honest.
"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2. For
kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and honesty" [1 Tim. 2:1, 2].
And let us pray that each of us, ourselves, individually and
singly, will have "honest and good hearts."
Honesty has always been a characteristic and sub-topic of
love. Yahweh Almighty is love. It is my prayer that all will learn to
love as He is love. I like one other quote that I observed. It goes like this: "If
you plant honesty, you will reap trust." Ask yourself, "Do people trust
me?" In that answer, we will find the status of our honesty.