This month, our character focus is Truthfulness. The operational definition of truthfulness is “earning future trust by accurately reporting past facts.”

When your life and words consistently communicate what is honest and accurate, others will learn that they can trust you and believe what you say. Being truthful means reporting details accurately and admitting when you are wrong. Telling the truth can be difficult and often requires courage and humility. Truthfulness is not only speaking facts with your lips, but also acting with integrity and avoiding secret sins, recognizing that God sees and knows everything.

The opposite of truthfulness is deception. People may twist the truth in order to gain approval or avoid punishment. Deception often involves telling lies, stealing, or secretly doing what authorities said not to do. When caught doing wrong, a dishonest person may blurt out more falsehoods to cover up the initial offense. He misleads by leaving out important details and may exaggerate, make excuses, or tell half-truths. A deceptive person might cheat on tests, making a teacher believe that the work is his own when it really is not. Although we are born with deceitful hearts, we can draw near to God and cleanse our hearts with His truth.