Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – September 8, 2019
I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 1 Chronicles 29:17
Be honest with yourself and be truthful about your strengths, your weaknesses, your limitations, your personality, and your character. Be who you are and who you can become with God’s transforming power, and do not become an imitation of someone else. So be ever vigilant in your self-awareness. Take a variety of self-assessments and compare their results, become comfortable with one, and make its language part of your everyday speech and practice.
Submit yourself to a regular review from your supervisor and other team members, and open yourself up to scrutiny and feedback from your family and friends. Self-honesty comes from a teachable heart that listens to—and learns how to improve from—the perspective of its peers. Honesty means you confess what you don’t know. You don’t pretend to have all the answers, but you humbly seek to define the right questions.
Validate with others who know well what you do best. Is it analyzing data, writing, leading, strategic thinking, networking, communicating, recruiting, managing, nurturing relationships, supporting, planning, or implementing to name a few? Discover what you do best and in what area you have the most passion, and then focus your time and attention there. It takes honesty to refrain from doing those things you like when your results are only average in their outcomes. Putting your courage and trust in others to carry out these interesting tasks will bring about the best results for everyone.
So, focus on what you do best. This leverages your time and promotes the best stewardship of your skills, gifts, talents, and abilities. Be honest with yourself and be honest with others. Honesty with others admits and exposes what they already feel and know. It is a natural application of integrity and is one of the top reasons people stay around for any length of time. It creates an environment of trust, which is a safe place to work and live.
Honesty puts rumors to rest and is as quick to communicate the negative as it is to promote the positive. Honesty is secure enough to apologize to the team and come clean with a bad decision or an awful attitude. Honesty is the best policy because everyone is free to be truthful.
Cover-ups and blame kill the spirit of a caring culture, but honesty breathes life, loyalty, and professionalism. Be honest with others by caring enough to confront, for this keeps accounts short and cultivates trust. Be honest by confessing your mistakes, for this frees others to do the same and builds respect.
Lastly, be honest by communicating the good and the bad, for this keeps everyone engaged in reality. Christ’s mode of operation is honesty, and He expects us to strike from our vocabulary the dishonest habit of saying, “I’ll be honest with you.” Authentic honesty does not require a disclaimer. It is the natural response of someone who is honest with God, themselves, and others.
Be honest and watch God bless with joy, peace, love, and respect.
“An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips” (Proverbs 24:26).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, show me the truth so I do not deceive myself, in Jesus’ name, amen.
Application
In what area of my life am I believing a lie that is leading down the wrong path?
Related Reading
Proverbs 14:5, 16:13; Matthew 22:16; 2 Corinthians 1:12; Titus 2:7
Today’s reading is taken from Boyd’s most popular 365 day devotional book Seeking Daily the Heart of God
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Be yourself, and validate with others who know well, what you do best. #WisdomHunters #honest #Jesus
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