Do We Really Need A National Honesty Day?

Dear reader, did you know that April 30th is National Honesty Day? This day was established in the early 1990’s by M. Hirsh Goldberg. Mr. Goldberg is now president of M. Hirsh Goldberg and Associates LLC, a Baltimore-based public relations and marketing agency. He was a former press secretary and speech writer for a Maryland governor and a mayor of Baltimore, and established National Honesty Day in response to corporate scandals, consumer fraud, identity theft and Internet schemes. Mr. Goldberg selected April 30th because, as he stated, “April begins with a day dedicated to lying [April Fools] and should end on a ‘higher moral note.'”

Beloved, what a sad commentary on our society that such a holiday should even be suggested, much less established. But no wonder, because we live in a society where lying has become rampant — no one trusting anyone. Gone are the days when a contract was sealed with merely a handshake, the days when a promise was regarded as good as fulfilled, and the days when a man’s word was his bond. Back in the 50’s and 60’s, this writer can remember writing a check for a purchase almost anywhere in this country, and it would be accepted without having to show a driver’s license or any other documentation, simply because folks trusted one another.

Some of the excuses given for lying today run the gamut from the “little white lie”  to deliberately deceiving someone for monetary or other types of gain.  We hear about potential employees giving false information on their employment applications, of politicians deliberately making promises which they don’t intend to keep, and taxpayers who cheat on their tax returns.

The Bible identifies Satan as the “father of lies” (John 8:44).Thus, whenever we lie, we identify ourselves with Satan. Paul tells us that mankind once changed the truth of God into a lie by worshiping idols (Romans 1:24-25; cf. Isaiah 44:9-20; Jeremiah 10:14-15), and we still do. Lies have been used to promote false religion for centuries (Matthew 24:5,11; cf. Acts 20:29; 2 Peter 2:1), and they are still being promoted today.

The question then becomes, “Do we really need a National Honesty Day?” The answer is simple: NO! We just need to be honest with ourselves, with one another, and with God every day! (Ephesians 4:21-25; cf. Zechariah 8:16-17; Colossians 3:9-10).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets