Honesty

Honesty

HONESTY

He who gives a right answer kisses the lips. Proverbs 24:26

One of the keys to connecting with people is this: Be candid about problems in the relationship.

Being candid and being connected go together. You don’t have one without the other. Genuine, healthy, deep, meaningful relationships are built on honesty, not on flattery. An honest answer is the sign of true friendship. Flattery is a sign of a manipulator, not a sign of somebody who is genuinely your friend.

All of us have blind spots. The question that really matters is: do you have anybody in your life who loves you enough to point them out? You cannot grow unless somebody points out the things that you can’t see in your life, but that need changing. Let me give you three rules for being candid in relationships:

1. Compliment in public, correct inbprivate. Do this with your children, your spouse, your employees, and your friends.

2. Correct when they’re up and not down. When I’m feeling good, I can handle almost any correction. When I’m feeling tired, I can’t handle anything. Timing is everything when you’re being candid.

3. Never offer correction until you’ve proven that you are also willing to be corrected. Remember: seek to understand before seeking to be understood. You open up your life before you expect someone else to be open with you.

Connecting means we care enough to be candid. Is there an issue you need to be candid about?

Prayer: Ask the Lord to give you wisdom to be honest and candid in all your relationships.

Scriptural Reading: Proverbs 24:23-29

Honesty