TUESDAY, 10 JUNE 2025
I don’t write much about people’s religious beliefs anymore, but recently a thought occurred about honesty.
A few weeks ago, I heard a story about a man who had quit his job. During a religious gathering, he told everyone present that from then on, he would rely on God for his bread and butter. Shortly after, someone in the congregation stood up and declared that he owned a farm, and that he would leave the management of it to the man who was now unemployed.
“Praise the Lord!” dozens of people exclaimed. God had provided.
An alternative explanation is that it was in the best interest of everyone present that “God would provide.” The man who owned the farm thought: I need someone to manage the farm. If I stand up now and make it known, God will have provided for the man’s needs.
What he might not have thought, but what would still be true: His standing in the faith community would also rise, because he would be seen as an “instrument in God’s hands.”
That’s where honesty comes in.
Suppose a person who identifies as a Christian says, “I see what you mean. Maybe it’s just a case of a group of people wanting certain things to be true, and it’s in their best interest to do things that will give the impression that they are true. I can see how it could be understood that way. Nevertheless, I still choose to believe that God did indeed provide, and that He had worked through the man with the farm.”
If such a person made this statement, the argument would be over. I would have nothing further to add. I would shake the man’s hand, thank him for his honesty, and wish him a good life.
Now suppose such a person who identifies as a Christian takes a different position, insisting that it was indeed God who had provided, and that he refused to see any other possibility.
To this person I would say: “You may be right, but you are not honest.”
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