I was a high school senior when Billy Joel’s beautiful album, “52nd Street” came out. I have been a fan of his since before I attended his concert (my first) at 15, and was especially taken with his song, “Honesty.” Here are the first lyrics: “If you search for tenderness
It isn’t hard to find. You can have the love you need to live. But if you look for truthfulness, You might just as well be blind
It always seems to be so hard to give. [Chorus] “Honesty” is such a lonely word Everyone is so untrue. Honesty is hardly ever heard
And mostly what I need from you.” From the first myth of Adam and Eve to yesterday’s news, honesty has been a rare commodity.
This month, churches everywhere are looking at the book of James (my favorite) on Sunday mornings. James is often ignored, but is full of wisdom, focusing on being doers of the word, not just hearers. The writer echose the words of Jesus, to “let your yes be yes and your no be no.” Here are a couple of verses from the first chapter: “If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” The Apostle Paul wrote it this way in Ephesians 4: “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.”
I wish my words and my actions matched up 100% of the time, but the only person who did that was Jesus. Still, for those who believe themselves to be faithful believers in God, the task set before us is to work at doing just that. We are expected to work towards those things that build up, not that which tears down. The more public we are, the more we are judged in this way, and blatant abuse of power and authority shows the world exactly who we are. And even though none of us can see inside a person’s soul, our words convict us. We all have thoughts and ideas that we know are wrong; I think the writer of James, Paul, and Jesus all understood that. It is what we do with those thoughts and ideas that truly matters. No thought ever harmed anyone, but words and actions have.
Mr. Joel wanted truth in his relationships. So do I. So do you. We want it in our marriages and families and friendships; we want it from our spiritual leaders and elected officials. We want is from the people who sell us stuff. I know this is pie in the sky stuff, but one can always dream. And we can be the kind of people who match what we say with what we do, even if others don’t. It’s called integrity, and we can have it in our lives, even if others don’t.
Prayer – Holy God, You have given us the freedom to tell the truth or to lie. Truth-telling takes courage. Help us to find that courage with every new day. Amen.
Today’s art is “Billy Joel – New York State of Mind” by David Lloyd Glover.