William Shakespeare once said, “Honesty is the best policy. If I lose mine honor, I lose myself.”
I've often wondered about this infamous quote...recently I've even speculated on whether or not Shakespeare had friends. If he truly were a man who practiced what he preached, then I suppose he managed to tick off his share of acquaintances and friends and possibly even strangers.
You always seem to hear people say, "Tell me honestly," but you have to ask, do they really mean it? Is honesty really the best policy?
Think about the last time you asked some to be honest with you. Depending on whom you were with, you most likely got a not-so-straight answer based off of your question:
“Do these jeans make my butt look fat?”
“I’m not cranky after work am I?”
“Don’t you think she was so rude to me by saying that?”
I tend to doubt there are few “friends” and possibly even family members that would answer these in the most direct and honest form possible. Why do people say they want your honest opinion then are completely offended when they actually get it? Honestly, I am just like those people. I sometimes find myself asking for someone’s honest opinion then metaphorically I’ll duck and shield my face because I know I’m about to receive a nasty blow and it can be quite difficult to accept.
However, it does depend on the person is that is honest with you. I value honesty when it come from a credible and influential source in my life; if the retort comes from any random person or distant coworker, then I might be more apt to dismiss their opinion. I find that I usually can handle the truth when it comes from certain members of my family but it’s still hard to swallow. The truth really does hurt sometimes and I think that is why most people just don’t seek after it.
Society is apparently inferring that we ought to go around intentionally lying to others because in all reality we can’t handle even a smidgen of the truth.
Now there comes a point where being directly honest can come off as being cruel and our opinion can have a detrimental effect on the other individual’s mental state, but if that’s the case shouldn’t the “truth-seeker” consider the possibilities of their answers before they go around asking for an honest opinion?
In a nutshell, if you can’t handle the truth, then don’t demand it from others.
Ephesians 4:25
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
Cheers,
Laura
Well, I don't feel so bad now for telling you that some of those shirts you were looking at while were at Macy's were ugly. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know how many times somebody asks me a question like "how are you doing?" and i say everything is okay when it is really not. Maybe I should answer it truthfully (i can choose how detailed the answer is depending on the person), and let who ever asks the question deal with an honest answer.