Let him who steals steal no more. Instead, let him labor, working with his hands things which are good, that he may have something to share with him who is in need.

— Ephesians 4:28

“Thou shalt not steal,” says the eighth commandment. Yet, I am afraid that old Diogenes, walking around with his lamp looking for an honest man, might have a difficult time finding one in America today. If he walked up to you and held up his lamp in your face, would he find an honest man? An honest woman? An honest boy or girl?

Once a man parked a car on his front lawn with a sign: “For Sale.” Someone stopped to inquire about it, and the teenage son answered the knock on the door. The man made a very generous offer. The son was excited, because there were some things he wanted, and the family was hard pressed for money at the time.

He called his dad excitedly. His father came out and the man told him about his offer. The father said, “Well, you see, there are some problems with this car—some problems that are going to take rather expensive fixing”—and he enumerated exactly what they were. The man thanked him and decided, in the light of that information, he would not buy the car. The owner obviously was the loser in that situation—or was he? His son never forgot that lesson. Years later he could still say, “My father is an honest man.” Can your son say that about you?

Question to ponder:
Can you think of any time where you have been less than honest? What can you do to make it right?