We Practice Honesty

If there is one thing that seems to be on the rise… and somewhat out of control in our society today, it would be what is commonly known as… spin.

What is spin?

I am not speaking of the action of rotating in a circle until you are dizzy or cannot stand anymore.

Remember the older toys that you sat on and turned until you just about threw up? (Show Slide)

I was actually surprised to see that they were still available on Amazon. And I love the product description:

Turn the wheel to start the fun and watch you child explore the spinning and excitement.

Sit’N Spin toy creates hours of spinning and twisting fun for your child.

Toy can spin fast or slow

I’ll tell ya that anyone who can last hours on this thing is an absolute beast!

And… the popularity of this thing among kids doesn’t surprise me… because what is the first thing a kiddo will do when they sit in an office chair or on a bar stool? They start spinning!

This spin might be considered entertaining… but there is another spin that is a bit more… dangerous.

This spin is defined as presenting information with a particular spin or twist.

That spin or twist… in reality… is dishonesty. And this dishonesty is everywhere.

Typically, this is done to protect an image, reputation, standard, or agenda. The presenter doesn’t want people to think less of them so they present the information in a way that hides the truth and tells of only the facts they want the people to know.

The problem is… PEOPLE SEE RIGHT THROUGH IT. OR… people draw their own conclusions by filling in the blanks on their own.

The bottom line is… it’s dishonesty. It’s a practice of hiding or manipulating the truth for personal gain or protection.

And church… we must be careful that we don’t get into the dishonest game ourselves.

Our house habit tonight in our series Solid Ground is simply this: We Practice Honesty.

So… what exactly is honesty?

It is adherence to the facts. It is sincerity. It is telling the truth.

Now… if we’re honest… honesty can be something that is difficult to give… AND something difficult to receive.

Sometimes it is hard to be honest with others because we are concerned that the truth might hurt a person’s feelings of come off as judgmental.

And sometimes it is hard to receive honest truth because of the same reasons: our feelings might be hurt and the statements come off as judgmental.

So where has all the fear come from regarding telling someone or receiving from someone the truth?

I would offer this: The more we operate in dishonesty, the harder the reception of truth becomes.

Dishonesty binds us in deception and lies. Dishonesty keeps us from facing reality and moving beyond where we might be.

Now, regarding honesty and truth, Jesus clearly stated that God’s truth has the power to set us free.

God’s truth is liberating. God’s truth breaks us free from the ways and standards of the world. God’s truth shines light on deception and reveals it for what it is.

There is freedom in truth. Knowing His truth is the path to freedom.

Therefore, as God’s people, as the body of Christ, we need to be in the habit of practicing honesty.

And this house habit starts in a place you may not expect.

What might first come to our minds is being honest with others. And some might even be thinking, “Yeah, it’s time I tell this person what I really think. It’s time I clear the air on how I feel about this.”

Do not misunderstand this house habit tonight. If you practice honesty by weaponizing the truth to tear people down, then you have missed the point completely. God does not give us truth to tear down… He gave us truth to lead us to freedom.

So let’s look at our main text at take a look at where Jesus says honesty needs to start...

Matthew 7:1–5 NIV

1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

This passage comes right out of Jesus’ Sermon on the mount. It starts off by talking about judging… then moves into a place of honesty. And if you read too fast, you might just miss it.

First off, Jesus tells His followers that...

First, We Must Be Honest With Ourselves.

Honesty with self can sometimes be one of our greatest challenges.

Jesus highlights it in what might be called common behavior among humans.

We like to call out other people’s problems… before we address our own issues. For some reason, humanity finds comfort in that.

Perhaps it is easier to look outward instead of inward. But if we’re honest, many of our outward “gripes” toward others stem from inward struggles we are battling with.

Ever see someone who is having a bad day begin to take it out on others?

Ever see someone try to knock someone down who is joyful just because they find their demeanor to be annoying?

Ever see a person’s personal stress boil over and cause stress in others?

Sure we have. Not only have we seen this… we’ve been the one having the bad day, or the bad attitude, or walking through the stressful season.

Jesus plainly and honestly instructs His followers to deal with their own issues, FIRST.

So what might be some symptoms we can watch for that would suggest we have a plank eye issue?

People who are dishonest with themselves are often:

Complacent toward others.

They are unhappy where they are, and blame others for their unhappiness. They cannot see any good in any person or situation because in reality, they struggle to see the good in themselves.

I know a few people who are happiest… when they are unhappy. They find satisfaction in complacency and their natural environment is a negative atmosphere.

Comparing all the time.

Comparison is a dangerous game. This often involves measuring someone else’s faults or weaknesses against what we perceive to be our strengths.

“Well, I might struggle with this but at least I’m not like so and so who struggles with that.”

In reality, both are struggles… but for some reasons a person can find relief in knowing they aren’t as bad as someone else.

Talking bad about others to others.

Gossip is a huge indicator of dishonesty with self. Tearing down others for the sake of conversation is not something God’s people should be involved in. The Bible makes it clear that we will be known as followers of Christ for our love… not for our gossip.

There are several other examples we could list tonight but I think you get my point. We AVOID being honest with ourselves as we place the faults of others in the spotlight.

Remember the story of the adulteress woman in John 8.

She was caught in sin… their was no denying her action. The crowd was using her situation to attempt to trap Jesus. The law said death by stoning. What would Jesus say?

This is a CLASSIC example of dust and planks. The crowd could not see its own sin as it condemned the woman for her sins.

So… Jesus helped them see the plank. He turned the table back on them using their own logic. AND… Jesus had NO PLANK OF SIN shrouding His view of the situation.

You see… its often our sin that disables us from being able to see the situation clearly. Our own sin skews what we see… and often spins the situation to our advantage or agenda. DID YOU CATCH THAT? Our own sin skews what we see… and often spins the situation to our advantage or agenda.

Jesus reminded the crowd that they all deserved to be condemned for their sins. He put them all in the place that they had put the woman.

AND once they realized their own sin… They realized they had NO PLACE to judge the woman. HONESTY SET IN.

And hear me clearly… as God’s truth helps us to be honest about our own struggles… DO NOT SIMPLY WALK AWAY WITH YOUR HEAD DOWN… WALK TOWARD THE ONE THAT CAN REMOVE THE PLANK FROM YOUR EYE.

What I wish would have happened in this story is… as the crowd became more aware of their sins… I wish they had dropped the stones and joined the woman where she was. WHY? Because she was at the feet of Jesus… at the feet of the One who came to seek and to save the lost.

After all had left, Jesus forgave her of her sin AND instructed her to go and to sin no more.

He didn’t condone her actions. He didn’t excuse her actions. She was forgiven and instructed to LEAVE her life of sin.

Church, we like to point out the faults and the wrong that is in the world… but let’s not get caught up with sawdust when Christ is calling us to deal with our own planks.

Yes there is much to be concerned with in the world. But what good is it to focus on outward issues if we haven’t dealt with inward struggles?

Jesus is the One who can help us with the plank in our eye! And once that plank has been dealt with, we will be able to see more clearly! Honesty starts with ourselves… but Jesus said that it should extend toward others.

Second, We Must Be Honest With Others.

I want to look again at Matthew 7:5

Matthew 7:5 NIV

5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Here’s what we need to understand. None of us in this room would be here if someone had not been honest with our sin.

Someone had the boldness and compassion to talk to us about where we were… and where we were going.

In NO WAY was Jesus suggesting that because we have issues of our own that we should just overlook the issues that others are facing. In fact, I would say just the opposite.

Part of the reason the Holy Spirit is given to believers is to convict us of our sins. The Holy Spirit guides us away from anything that looks to rob us of the new life we have in Jesus.

When that conviction comes, we have a choice:

Will we repent?

Or will we remain?

I pray we will repent! I thank God for the awareness He brings to us regarding sin through the work of the Holy Spirit.

But the world does not know the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of truth. Look at what John 14:17 tells us

John 14:17 (NIV)

17 ...The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

So if the world is not convicted of sin through the Spirit, then how will the world become aware of its need for a Savior?

Through the body that Jesus commissioned for this specific mission. The church… the body of Christ… has been commissioned by Christ to go and make disciples of Christ.

Here’s the deal: the world will not come to Jesus through spin, gimmicks, deception, or compromising truth. The world has already had its fair share of that nonsense. The world NEEDS TRUTH. The world NEEDS HONESTY.

And the church cannot come at this from a dishonest position. We cannot come at this without being honest regarding our own struggles. The world will see right through it.

All of us are sinners… the difference maker in our lives is Jesus.

We’re not saved because we are good, perfect, righteous or kind. Our salvation came through the One that truly was without sin.

He took on our sin and offers His righteousness in return. All He asks for is faith… BELIEF. All He asks is that we would follow Him.

In that following, we experience grace like no other. We experience life to the full. We learn of His love that is like no other.

Jesus is the reason why the old has gone and the new has come. We didn’t do anything to deserve what Christ has done… He graciously gave of Himself while we were yet sinners.

Jesus was honest with us regarding our sin… and it made all the difference.

Jesus NEVER compromised the truth.

Jesus ALWAYS spoke the truth in love.

You will never go wrong with speaking the truth. The key in its reception is how you reveal it.

Ultimately, you cannot control how someone receives an honest and truthful word. But… you can help in its reception by communicating in a loving and compassionate way.

God has sent the church to make a difference… we can’t do that through spin, deception, indifference or apathy. The church is always speak God’s truth in love… while living in God’s truth.

Closing

So what steps can we take to make sure this house habit is in place?

It starts by taking care of anything in our own lives that needs to be taken care of. First, we must stop trying to fool ourselves.

Honesty starts with self. Honesty starts with taking care of our own struggles.

This means we take a deep breath, and be real with ourselves. This DOES NOT mean that we beat ourselves up. It means we ask for the help of the Holy Spirit as we deal with the plan that may be in our own eye.

It’s time to stop avoiding it and to get that thing dealt with in Jesus’ name.

How do we know if we are struggling in this area? Look to the symptoms.

If you find yourself complaining about others, being critical of others, gossiping about others, or comparing others… it might be because you are hiding some struggles you are not being honest about.

And really… we know when there is a struggle. It will impact us in several ways. We simply must be honest about it and take it to the One that help us through it.

Secondly, we need to check how honest we are with others.

Do we make it a habit to be honest… or to be dishonest?

Do we hide behind spin and deception or are we willing to tell the truth?

Do we value others enough to compassionately be honest with them to help them in their walk and growth in the Lord?

This habit… is one that often thrives in relationship.

The better a person knows you and you know that person, the easier it is to be honest. So work to build relationship. Strive to be honest in all things. Aim to build up, not tear down. And ask for the Lord to help you with this habit.

For prayer tonight, I simply want to ask… are you ready to be honest?

Maybe you’ve struggled inwardly.

Maybe you’ve struggled outwardly.

Maybe honesty is hard for you. Just remember, you can never go wrong with truth… God’s truth. And He will help you if you are willing to be honest about this struggle.

Let’s call on God ans ask for His help.

Let’s ask for His help in dealing with the plank.

Let’s ask for His help in assisting with the saw dust.