The Honesty Party
GOD COMMANDS HONESTY BECAUSE GOD VALUES HONESTY.
Bible Reading of the Day: Read Zechariah 8:14-17.
Verse of the Day: “You must not cheat each other” (Leviticus 25:17, New Century Version).
Keith tossed his book bag onto the overstuffed chair beside the front door and strode to the kitchen to grab an after-school snack. When he reached the doorway to the dining room, he stopped and stared. The room was decorated with balloons and streamers, and party hats sat on the table at each place setting.
Amber breezed into the room, and Keith nodded at the decorations. “What’s this all about?” he asked his sister.
Amber shrugged. “Mom says it’s a surprise.”
That evening as the family gathered around the table for dinner, Keith and Amber were still curious about the decorations. After Dad prayed, he stood and put on his party hat. He nodded to the hats near everyone’s plates.
“Put them on,” he said, smiling.
“Why?” Keith asked. “What’s going on?”
Mom suddenly reached into a drawer in the china cabinet and pulled out a large silver medal. The “medal” was actually a three-inch circle of cardboard wrapped in aluminum foil and attached to a thick red ribbon. She handed it to Dad.
“This is our family’s first ‘Honesty Party,’” Dad said. “We’re having this party to celebrate an act of honesty that was done by someone in our family.” Keith and Amber exchanged quizzical glances. “Keith, would you stand, please?” Dad asked. Keith stood, and Dad stepped over to his son and slipped the ribbon over his head.
“What’s this for?” Keith asked, smiling.
“Dad and I met with your teachers this week,” Mom said. “And Mr. Henson, your math teacher, told us that somebody tried to give you the answers to a quiz last week—”
“Yeah,” Keith interrupted. “That was Jim Hooper.”
“And Mr. Henson said you wouldn’t take them. He said he saw everything in the school hallway. That’s when we decided to do this,” Mom said. “We wanted to honor you and tell you we’re proud of you.”
“And also because we want you to know,” Dad added, “that we really value honesty in this family, because we serve a God who values honesty and hates dishonesty.”
“Thanks,” Keith said. He shrugged. “I never thought that much about it.” “Well, we do,” Mom said. “And so does God.”
TO DO: Plan an “honesty party” sometime soon to reward a family member for an act of honesty.
TO PRAY: “Lord, you command us to be honest, even if honesty doesn’t bring us rewards here on earth. Help us to obey your commands.”