Honesty is the value that holds a civil society together. Three generations ago in Sibu, Wong Nai Siong, the Foochow Pioneer of Sibu, and Rev James Hoover adhered to the policy of practising honesty in the new Foochow Settlement of Sibu as a paramount value. Any one not telling the truth would be shipped back to China. That punishment was a feared deterent.<\/p>\n
Thus, it was a common way of starting a Foochow conversation in the early 20th century in Sibu, by saying, \u201cI am not telling you a lie. Believe me.\u201d Even when preaching on Sundays, pastors would state \u201cThis is the truth of God, I don\u2019t lie to you\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the years, as children we have heard many stories of truthful and untruthful people and what results they faced, as part of our moral education and upbringing from our Foochow elders.<\/p>\n
In the 21st century, sad to say, honesty as a value is threatened. Amidst tales of dishonesty and lack of transparency in our multi faced society, it is hard for even Christians to remain true to the teachings of Christ. Adhering to what St. Paul wrote is not easy, \u201cWherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.\u201d (Ephesians 4.25)<\/p>\n
Woman in the Mall<\/span><\/strong> All the commotion was in front of her children and many other children too. This kind of behavior would definitely leave a scar on a child or children who witnessed the scene.<\/p>\n \u201cI am glad I did it.\u201d<\/span><\/strong> The following morning, he was surprised to see an elderly man entering his lecture hall and calling out his name. My son was so astounded that he almost slipped on the steps of the lecture theatre. It was a good thing, the lecture had not started.<\/p>\n The elderly man shook hands with him and asked him if he had lost a small bag. My son was so overwhelmed that the man had taken a bus all the way to his university to return him his lost bag.<\/p>\n His first remark was, \u201cIt is ok son. I thought you might like the photos to be returned to you. And you have some money in the bag too.\u201d<\/p>\n It was not only a precious moment for my son, it was a healing moment. Moral education in our society<\/span><\/strong> In fact one medical doctor relates better health to good character. He thinks that honesty has been linked to less colds, less fatigue, less depression, and less anxiety. Honest people are better able to relax because they are just being themselves and naturally, feel better about themselves and less overwhelmed. He suggested that one act of honesty a day will really make your day.<\/p>\n The Boys\u2019 Scouts live with the maxim, \u201cDo a good deed a day\u201d. That maxim has really helped many people towards better and honest living.<\/p>\n \u201cHonesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway,\u201d said Mother Teresa.<\/p>\n And finally, Proverbs 28: 8 states, \u201cBetter is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.\u201d Honesty is the value that holds a civil society together. Three generations ago in Sibu, Wong Nai Siong, the Foochow Pioneer of Sibu, and Rev James Hoover adhered to the policy of practising honesty in the new Foochow Settlement of Sibu as a paramount value. Any one not telling the truth would be shipped back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48980,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,211,10],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20962"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scaccmm.sarawakmethodist.org\/new\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nNot too long ago, I was watching a promotion in a shopping mall. And I saw a rather unsightly scene in which a shopkeeper had a struggle with a woman shopper who apparently had taken an item. Upon being caught, she claimed that she thought the item was a \u201cfree gift\u201d and that she could take it. However the shopkeeper said that it was not a free gift, and holding tightly to her hand.<\/p>\n
\nWas the woman totally honest? Had she meant to take the item?<\/p>\n
\nOn a positive side, my son upon entering his first year university in a foreign country \u201clost\u201d his small bag while rushing for his bus. He was a bit heartbroken because the small bag contained a small note book, some family photos, just one or two dollars for his return bus fare and a snack – it was all the worldly possessions he had in the foreign land. Any way he had lectures to attend to. That night he really did not sleep well.<\/p>\n
\nThe old man said in parting, \u201cDon\u2019t worry son, it is a small matter. I am glad I did it.\u201d He waved and then he was gone. My son did not even get his name in the rush.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cYour friends love the \u2018true you\u2019, not the one you\u2019ve artificially created. Honesty attracts honesty. People who are trustworthy and honest attract trustworthy and honest friends. And those are the best friends to have,\u201d said a Moral Education teacher in a school.<\/p>\n
\nby Changyi<\/span>
\nGrace Methodist Church, Miri<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"