Introduction
The problem of dishonesty in our work and labor is a difficult one to address because it is often the case that the first one “lied to” is the liar himself. He is dishonest in his work and labor, but in order to do this most effectively, he must be dishonest first with himself. Remember that the truth about yourself is not seen by looking into your hearts; the truth is found by looking into the mirror of the Word (Jas. 1:24-25). The Word of God is the only true solution to self-deception.
We saw earlier that laziness was a form of dishonesty. We now come to the lesson that dishonesty is a form of dishonesty.
Ownership
We need to start with the realization that honest work belongs to the Lord. He owns all that equipment.
“A just weight and balance are the Lord’s: All the weights of the bag are his work.”Proverbs 16:11 (KJV)
The scales belong to Him. The weights that are used with the scales belong to Him. The bag itself belongs to Him. So the Lord identifies with honest work. The weights in the bag are His; the nails in the wall are His; the entire repair job is His—provided it is done honestly.
It is not enough for your shop to have that little fish in the window. It needs to be the kind of operation where You would be willing for Jesus to be the one who signs off on all the invoices, and without flushing a deep red.
The Lure of Dishonesty
If God identifies with honest work, and He does, and He owns every honest business, as He does, then why is there any problem?
Well, we live in a fallen world. We sin when we start sinning . . . downhill. Sin is attractive—at least at the beginning. It is easy to glide, and to glide right into trouble.
“Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; But afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.”Proverbs 20:17 (KJV)
Learning honesty means learning to taste the gravel early. It means learning to taste the gravel by faith, resting simply on the Word of God. It means tasting the gravel without actually eating any. The Word tells us where this sweetness winds up, and we see that as the truth, and we accept it. We know it, and we know it without having to go there ourselves.
But the simple do not learn this lesson, and listen instead to the siren call of a foolish woman.
“Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: And as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; And that her guests are in the depths of hell.”Proverbs 9:16–18 (KJV)
Again, there is a sweetness at the beginning of dishonesty and deception, but the end is a calamity. The sweetness beckons . . . and the promise of sweetness is fulfilled, but only at the start. After that, everything takes a dark turn.
Often people learn how “sweet” it is to be dishonest in early life—for example, in their school work—but the end thereof is Hell. It is a grim reality that some people begin their active pursuit of this calamitous end in the third grade. Or in junior high in their online homeschool assignments—where dishonesty is easy—and the parents assume it is their duty to make multiple excuses and justifications whenever the online tutors try to address the cheating. Their child is resolved to take the dishonest approach to life, and the parents think they are somehow supposed to make that easier. “Here, let us remove some obstacles.”
But when an online student gets a zero for an assignment he cheated on, and the parents contact the school, it should only be to request that the school assign two zeros.
God Hates Dishonesty
The reason dishonesty comes to a bad end is because a sovereign God hates it.
“Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the Lord.”Proverbs 20:10 (KJV)
The word abomination here refers to something disgustingly wicked. This sin is right in there, in God’s sight, with sodomy (Lev. 18:22), bowing down to idols (Deut. 7:25), or witchcraft (Deut. 18:12). The fact that such dishonesty is rampant in Christian circles, often without consequences, is one of the reasons we are afflicted with all these other grotesqueries.
“Divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord; And a false balance is not good.”Proverbs 20:23 (KJV)
Having your thumb on the scales is loathsome to God. A dishonest man is therefore a wicked man.
“The wicked worketh a deceitful work: But to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.”Proverbs 11:18 (KJV)
Dishonesty Frequently Involves “Tomorrow”
Sometimes tomorrow is the procrastinating opportunity of the lazy. But there are many occasions where tomorrow is a convenient covering for a lie. The first few times when tomorrow doesn’t turn out as promised might be bad luck. But if a man has been in business for fifteen years, and he doesn’t meet his deadlines or his estimates 90% of the time . . . his problem is that he is dishonest.
“Boast not thyself of to morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; A stranger, and not thine own lips.”Proverbs 27:1–2 (KJV)
So not completing work on time is dishonesty. Not completing it on time the way you said you would, or with the quality you promised, is dishonesty. If you are good for it tomorrow, then let another say so. This is something that others can do based upon your past performance, not upon your promises.
Dishonesty Brags
One of the characteristics of dishonesty is that it talks a great game.
“Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift Is like clouds and wind without rain.”Proverbs 25:14 (KJV)
Although this is a proverb concerning claims of generosity, we may apply it to other forms of “giving” as well. There is a person who is all hat and no cattle, all foam and no beer, all sizzle and no steak. He is clouds and wind without rain.
People boast vainly of how much they will give, how much they will earn, how much they will do, how much they will accomplish. But when we come to count it all up, not much is there.
Other forms of bragging reveal a dishonest turn of mind as well.
“It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: But when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.”Proverbs 20:14 (KJV)
Dishonesty at Home
Dishonesty frequently begins at home. It is almost always learned there.
“Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; The same is the companion of a destroyer.”Proverbs 28:24 (KJV)
This is the worst form of dishonesty because it is perpetrated against loved ones, but is often excused, as here, because it is “all in the family.”
Dishonesty and Injustice
We get the kind of government we deserve. If we are governed by scoundrels and thieves, and we are, it is because we are a nation of scoundrels and thieves. The larcenous cannot maintain power unless they have “a base” that they are catering to. And that base is the widespread dishonesty among the people. A people with thievery in their hearts will never be governed by honest men.
“A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.”Proverbs 17:23 (KJV)
This is a shortsighted dishonesty which refuses to recognize the lawful claim of precedent. When dishonesty begins, the end is perversion.
“Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.”Proverbs 22:28; cf. 23:10-11 (KJV)
The conclusion of the matter is here. The courts are perverted because the shops are. Wall Street is corrupt because Main Street is. The removal of the ancient landmarks on a grand scale begins with all the fudging we allow to ourselves in the little things that we have convinced ourselves “don’t matter that much.” We tell ourselves it is “not a big deal.”
If we want God to restore us, we need to ask Him to restore us all the way down. He desires truth in the inward parts.