Honesty is one of those qualities or virtues that helps one be trusted and loved by all. If I may ask us this question, do you love an honest person? I'm sure the answer will be in the affirmative. We all love honest people, but some of us are not honest.
To me, honesty means simply being truthful at all times. I remember my uncle telling me a story of how a young man was so honest and was rewarded for it. This young man was working in a bookstore as a sales manager. His boss fell sick and was hospitalized. Everyone thought he would recover from the sickness within a week. The man's situation worsened, and he ended up spending six months in the hospital. The man was so scared that his business would go down before he recovered from his sickness.
When he was discharged from the hospital, the first place he visited was his bookstore. And to his greatest surprise, he found the store better than he left it. He requested that an auditor be brought in to check the records. The report showed that there was a 60% increase in sales and that the store was in a better financial situation.The man was shocked at how honest his sales manager was. The thought of how to reward his honest staff He opened a bookstore for the young and stocked it with books. The young man was shocked by this and wept uncontrollably. There is a reward for honesty, but most people choose to be dishonest and later regret their actions.
An honest person is a person of courage. It takes courage for someone to be honest, even when they find themselves in a difficult position. A courageous person is ready to bear the consequences of his or her actions instead of being dishonest.
An honest person is reliable at all times. You can trust an honest person to get things done efficiently and effectively. Dealing with an honest person makes things easy for you. You won't be overly worried; you just know that he or she will get things done on time.
I remember some years ago having a conversation with an elderly man, and he told me how he benefited from being honest. He was working for a company in the accounting department. Some of his colleagues would ask him to inflate the company's budgets. He would refuse to do it, and they would mock him, saying, "You will die poor." The pressure became so great that he looked for a way to be transferred to another branch of the company, but it wasn't granted. After he retired, he got an appointment from the government. He was shocked; he didn't have any friends who were politicians, nor was he a member of any political party. When he asked how he got the appointment, he was told that he was recommended by someone. He later found out that it was his old boss who recommended him. When he asked his former boss why he recommended him for the appointment, The man simply told him, "You are an honest man."
It definitely pays to be honest. Let's all cultivate this virtue, and the world will become a better place for us all.
