Opening:
American author and humorist Mark Twain once said, “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.”A lack of truth and honesty in your life can lead you to wonder which story you told which person. If this has happened to you before, you probably remember the unsettled feeling that overcame you as you tried to recreate the right story for the right person. Being honest and truthful with others will give you peace and allow you to live a life of true freedom. Let’s see how a promise always to be truthful works out for Greg and his mother.
Watch DVD Scene 7—(Start time-19:58—End Time-24:10) (4:12)
Discussion Questions:
1. Who was dishonest in this clip? (Greg and his mother.) How were they dishonest? (Greg told his mother he was going to use the computer for homework, but he used it to watch a video instead. Greg’s mother encouraged him to tell his little brother he liked his gift when he didn’t.) Did anyone encourage honesty in this clip? (Yes.) Who? (Greg’s mother said honesty was important to her at the beginning of the clip, but then encouraged Greg to be dishonest with his little brother. Rowley encouraged Greg to do his homework, as he told his mom he would, instead of watching YouTube videos.) In the clip, Greg promises his mother always to tell the truth. How did that promise work out for Greg, his mother and others involved? (Greg tried to keep the promise; Greg’s promise didn’t quite work out the way his mother had planned; Greg’s promise also had an impact on his grandfather.)
2. Is it ever OK to be dishonest to keep others from getting hurt (as in the situations with Greg’s little brother and grandpa) or when being honest may not be in your best interest (mom’s phone call)? (It is never OK to be dishonest with or deceive others.) Why or why not? (Answers will vary but should include that God demands honesty from His people.) What could Greg have done in each of these situations that would have allowed him to be truthful and would not have hurt others or put them in an awkward position? (In the situation with his grandpa, he didn’t really have to say anything. In the situation with his mother, he could have said she was unable to come to the phone and taken a number for his mother to return the call.) Was Greg still being somewhat dishonest when he told the lady his mother was not in the house? (Yes.) Explain. (Although Greg technically was being honest, he also was being deceptive. When we deceive others, we do this to hide something from them. We do the same thing when we lie to others.)
3. Read Acts 5:1-11. Who had a problem with honesty in these verses? (Ananias and Sapphira.) How were they dishonest? (They lied to the Holy Spirit about the amount of money received for land they sold and kept back part of the money.) What were the consequences of their dishonesty? (Ananias and Sapphira died as a result of their dishonesty.) Why do you think Ananias and Sapphira tried to get away with lying to God? (Greed was probably behind their lying to God.)
4. Read Exodus 20:16. Does God command honesty from you and others who follow Him? (Yes. God demands honesty from His people. If you have any doubt of this, review God’s commandment that tells us not to give false testimony against our neighbor.)
5. Read Hebrews 6:18. Who is your ultimate example of honesty? (Jesus Christ.) Read John 8:44-47. Who is known as the father of lies? (Satan.) Why is the devil known as the father of lies (see verse 44)? (Because he does not hold to the truth, and the truth is not found in him.)
6. Read Proverb 12:17, 19; and Proverb 14:5. What are some characteristics of honesty and an honest person? (An honest person tells the truth; honesty endures forever; and an honest person does not deceive.) What are some characteristics of dishonesty and a dishonest person? (A dishonest person tells lies, and a lying tongue lasts only a moment.)
7. Is being honest with others always easy? (No, at times being honest is extremely difficult.) What is the hardest part of being an honest person? (Answers will vary but may include: Being an honest person is not always a popular thing; We all long to be accepted by others.) When do you find it hardest to be honest with others? (Answers will vary but may include: It’s hard to be honest with others when your honesty may lead to punishment.) Is it hard for you to trust people who have not been honest with you in the past? (Yes.) Why? (Because trust in others requires honesty.)
8. Read Titus 2:6-8. According to Titus 2:8, what is a consequence of not being honest and sound in your speech? (Dishonesty and lack of sound speech can lead others to condemn you. As believers, we are expected to set a good example for others. When our speech is not sound and we aren’t honest with others, we set a bad example for others.) What are some other consequences of not being honest with others? (Being dishonest with others can lead to a lack of trust, punishment, displeasing God.)
9. Read 1 Chronicles 29:17. Does honesty and integrity please God? (Yes.) If God were to test your heart today, would He find honesty and integrity there? (Answers will vary.)
10. What are some things you can do this week to make honesty a priority in your life? (Answers will vary.) Will you commit to doing these things as a way of becoming a more honest person? (Answers will vary.)
Closing Thought:
Honesty must be important to God as He addresses it in the Ten Commandments with the command that we should not give false testimony against our neighbor. God will forgive you for the times you fail to be honest. God wants you to follow His will by putting off all falsehoods and speaking truthfully to your neighbor while the father of lies wants to find no truth in you. Who will you choose to follow?
Closing Prayer and The Lord’s Prayer
“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body” (Eph. 4:25).
“Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? After it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.’ When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. Great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, ‘Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?’ ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘that is the price.’ Peter said to her, ‘How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.’ At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events” (Acts 5:1-11).
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (Ex. 20:16).
“God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged” (Heb. 6:18).
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God” (John 8:44-47).
“An honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies” (Prov. 12:17).
“Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment” (Prov. 12:19).
“An honest witness does not deceive,but a false witness pours out lies” (Prov. 14:5).
“Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us” (Titus 2:6-8).
“I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have 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 Chron. 29:17).
