Honesty is a tough subject to take on because, honestly, we all think we’re pretty honest.  Oh sure, there are a few George Costanzas out there who see their way of bending the truth to be a gift; but those are few.

The fact is, we strive to be honest and we all fall short of that goal.  Even in studies where researchers simply ask people how often they lie, the average is almost twice a day.  And that’s completely dependent on those people in the study telling the truth!

But there’s more to being honest than simply telling the truth or not.  In fact, checking out Dictionary.com shows that “truth” isn’t in any part of the black-and-white definition of honesty.  That definition of Honest is:

• Honorable in principles, intentions, and actions; upright and fair: an honest person
• Showing uprightness and fairness: honest dealings
• Gained or obtained fairly: honest wealth
• Sincere; frank: an honest face
• Genuine or unadulterated: honest commodities

So when you answer the cashier at the grocery store with “yes” when he asks you if you found everything OK – and you didn’t – this alone doesn’t make you a dishonest person.

Conversely, when the truth is told with dishonorable intentions, perhaps this isn’t honest after all.  We’ve all heard people share a hurtful truth followed by, “I’m just being honest.”

But were they?

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