Honesty does not grow naturally out of a dull, uninspired life.  It goes with the energetic, the forceful.  The dull soul who is content to plod along year after year in the same rut may be honest, and this one redeeming feature may be of such inestimable value to him that it sweetens and softens his entire days.  It will bring him friends ... true-blue friends, who will excuse all other shortcomings because of his honesty.  It gives him the unadulterated trust of his employer and it arouses a certain admiration among his narrow circle of acquaintances.  If this is true with the dullard, the weakling, then what must it mean when possessed by the great?  We know, for instance, how the nation instinctively turned to General Washington when it came to choosing their President after the Revolutionary War.  He may have been gifted, he may have been one of the world’s greatest captains, but the one quality which endeared him to his countrymen was a tremendous moral superiority. “He never told a lie” rang around the world.  Summed up, his virtues amounted to those five words.  Some statesmen may have been more astute but Washington was honest—­“he never told a lie.”  The people knew they could trust this man so they elected him to fill the highest place within their gift.

Honesty with ourselves is the first thing to remember.  Unless we are, it will be impossible for us to enter into that spiritual contentment enjoyed by those who are honest with themselves.  If we are untrue to ourselves how can we be true to others?  The framework of a man’s moral being must be that of honesty.  It must become his very nature and become automatic in its processes.  It belongs to the healthy, those who keep themselves well through vigorous exercise and temperate living.  It is not a quality set aside for the lucky few.  Every man, woman and child possesses it in some degree and only its constant neglect trims it to a minimum.  It is one of those fundamentals of life, one of those powerful and moving forces that rule society. We are either honest or we are not. We cannot be nearly honest and get away with it.

When one stops to consider honesty, even for a moment, its full importance is realized.  For example, imagine having a dishonest friend.  Could we go to him with the secrets of our heart?  Could we trust him?  Would we trust anyone who might turn traitor?  Again:  suppose we were untrue to ourselves, and the fact became known.  Could we blame others if they passed us up as a companion?  Never in a thousand years. We must sleep in the beds we prepare for ourselves.

Men have grown accustomed through the years to certain standards.  These are now the moral laws which control and guide the destinies of entire races, whole generations.  There must have been a good reason for these laws or they could never have come into being.  Society does not adopt many unnecessary rules, but among the vital laws honesty stands out in bold relief.  It has become deeply imbedded in the minds of mankind that everyone must be true to himself.  It is taken for granted that those who are not would naturally be false to everybody.