Honesty Remains the Best, Safest and Most Christ-Honoring Policy

A few weeks ago, I was grading papers and came across one that stopped me.

The essay was beautiful, a work of literary art. From lovely turns-of-phrase to clarity of thought, the paper was exceptional in every way. I was amazed that an undergraduate could write so well and think with such perception and precision.

And then … I read a phrase that sounded vaguely familiar. So, I did a web search for it. And then I copied the whole article and searched for it, as well.

The student had plagiarized her entire essay. A few words had been changed here and there, but it was lifted almost completely from the rather obscure website of a philosopher of music.

The Widespread Failure of Basic Personal Honesty

The student never responded to my email to her asking about her literary theft. Of course, I failed her. It saddened me greatly to do so.

Even sadder is the fact that this kind of thing is not uncommon. I have found at least seven distinct websites devoted to “helping” students write papers. Not papers in general — course-specific papers.

Of the courses I teach, many of the assignments already have pre-written papers and quiz answer-sheets available online. This is true, amazingly, for thousands of classes in colleges and universities across the country.

Why are we so prone to try to game the system, cheat, steal and prey upon others?

The failure of integrity, of basic personal honesty, is far from limited to college students looking for an “easy A” and an academic credential. Consider the recent and notorious case of Volkswagen.

Why are Humans Prone to Dishonesty?

James Liang, an engineer who “helped develop the software that concealed high levels of pollutants generated by Volkswagen’s diesel engines,” was sentenced in late August to a 40-month prison sentence. He is only the first VW employee of a number facing criminal charges. And the company itself is out $20 billion “in fines and settlements with consumers” for its massive fraud.

There is no point in cataloging the many examples of dishonesty that plague our culture. Using company time to surf the Net for fun and profit. “Phantom billing” by physicians for unneeded procedures defrauds Medicare. There are email scams. Identity theft. Bank fraud. Money laundering. Corporate execs who exploit their firms for personal profit. Union leaders who milk their members for cushy lifestyles. The list goes on and on.

Why? Why are we so prone to try to game the system, cheat, steal and prey upon others? Jesus’s half-brother James has an answer:

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions (James 4:1-3).

Knowing the One Who Brings Fulfillment

We are selfish, sinful beings. We “covet and cannot obtain,” so we fight and quarrel. How? We create enmity to enlist others in our enterprises of deception and theft. We buck against honest labor. We harbor grudges against our employers. We tell ourselves we won’t get caught and, in the process, end up lying not only to people at work but our loved ones and friends. We like to take what seems to be the easy way to get what we want. We believe, foolishly but consistently, even persistently, that money, pleasure and possessions will buy us contentment and/or security. These idols glitter enticingly. But they lie every single time.

Honesty enables us not only to stay out of legal and moral trouble. It forces us to confront reality. The deceptive idols that challenge every human, whether of some expensive new toy or a promotion at work or sex or power or whatever else, need to be confronted for what they are. Being honest with God and ourselves enables us to see them as false representations of the One Who is true, good and beautiful. The One Who alone brings fulfillment and contentment.

We All Need Accountability

This is true for individual Christians but also for Christian leaders. Each of us could enumerate examples of pastors, ministry executives, Christian athletes and business heads who have fallen prey to the temptations of illicit money, immorality and iron-fisted authority.

We all need accountability, including those pillars of the faith to whom we look for guidance, teaching and role-modeling. Everyone in a position of leadership needs two or three people who can look him in the eye and tell him he’s dead wrong, and do so without penalty.

I’m not talking about obnoxious “no” men who fight the boss. Rather, every godly leader needs godly men or women who have the standing to serve not only in the role of Barnabas the encourager but also of Nathan the prophet. Without them, sin lurks — eager to seize an opportunity for failure. Remember David, Uriah and Bathsheba.

Holding on to Integrity

Keeping an eternal perspective is essential to living a holy style of life.

This is no less true for ordinary believers. Infidelity, immorality and pornography are rampant in the church. Standing for truth, especially with respect to such things as same-sex “marriage,” is causing some faithful people to waver. Proclaiming Jesus as the only way to God and eternal punishment for those who reject Him has never been easy. In today’s America, that proclamation is seen by some as “hateful” and “aggressive.”

That’s why we need brothers and sisters to help us stay honest with the Bible and the Bible’s God.

Because of the human tendency for dishonesty, we have all kinds of local, state and federal agencies, rules, and investigators tasked with monitoring pretty much everyone involved with a business, a bank or a charity. We can debate how many are actually needed, but few would disagree that human nature invites public accountability when it comes to money.

Similarly, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability reviews the financial dealing of thousands of ministries nationwide. It does so as a matter of testimony and also as a matter of trust: Donors deserve to have their gifts used with integrity.

Keeping an Eternal Perspective

Keeping an eternal perspective is essential to living a holy style of life. If this life is all there is, honesty — as well as every other moral virtue — is a joke. Get what you can, from whom you can, whenever you can.

Thankfully, this is a massive lie. Christ is alive. “All are naked and exposed,” says the writer of Hebrews, “to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (4:13).

That pencil you stole from work. That income tax form you fudged on. That bank code you changed. The paper you plagiarized. You’re being watched. With eyes that will judge the living and dead. And with eyes that are also full of compassion, offering forgiveness and the strength to change.