Honesty Without Integrity

Charles Swindoll, in Growing Deep in the Christian Life, tells about a man who bought fried chicken dinners for himself and his date late one afternoon. The attendant at the fast food outlet, however, inadvertently gave him the proceeds from the day’s business—a bucket of money (much of it cash) instead of fried chicken. Swindoll writes:

“After driving to their picnic site, the two of them sat down to enjoy some chicken. They discovered a whole lot more than chicken—over $800! But he was unusual. He quickly put the money back in the bag. They got back into the car and drove all the way back. By then, the manager was frantic.

“Mr. Clean got out, walked in, and became an instant hero. ‘I want you to know I came by to get a couple of chicken dinners and wound up with all this money here.’

“Well, the manager was thrilled to death. He said, ‘Let me call the newspaper. I’m gonna have your picture put in the local paper. You’re one of the most honest men I’ve ever heard of.’

“To which the man quickly responded, ‘Oh, no. No, no, don’t do that!’ Then he leaned closer and whispered, ‘You see, the woman I’m with—she’s, uh, somebody else’s wife.’ “

One can be honest and still not have integrity.

—Phillip Gunter in Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Baker), from the editors of Leadership.

Whitewashed Tombs

The Queen Mary was the largest ship to cross the oceans when it was launched in 1936. Through four decades and a world War she served until she was retired, anchored as a floating hotel and museum in Long Beach, California.

During the conversion, her three massive smoke-stacks were taken off to be scraped down and repainted. But on the dock they crumbled. Nothing was left of the 3/4-inch steel plate from which the stacks had been formed. All that remained were more than thirty coats of paint that had been applied over the years. The steel had rusted away.

When Jesus called the Pharisees “whitewashed tombs,” he meant they had no substance, only an exterior appearance.

—Robert Wenz, Clifton Park, New York. Leadership, Vol. 4, no. 4.

Zingers by Croft Pentz - January 29, 2008

Complete honesty in little things is not a little thing at all.

If honesty isn't kind, it's the wrong kind.

There are no degrees of honesty; either you are honest or you are not.

Some people are honest only because they never had a good chance to steal anything.

An honest heart prepares one for a clear vision.