Honesty

The brothers of Joseph thought of themselves as “honest men.” The casual observer might have agreed. And so had their father, even though they had lied to him about Joseph’s fate. But Joseph knew these men and what they had done. They could not fool him.

As they stood before him in Egypt, he decided to test them. In response, they began to question each other, even admitting their guilt. Reuben recalled his warning that they should not “sin against the boy.” He knew that “his blood is now required of us.”

They were reminded of how they deceived their father for years, all the while trying to convince him that they were honest. Although moved by their father’s sorrow, they could not bring themselves to deal with their deceit.

This is a picture for all of us to ponder. What is our view of ourselves? Do we picture ourselves as pure and holy? Humble and righteous? People with nothing to hide?

The Bible tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But we also see that God is ready to forgive us. But first we must confess that we have sinned. And when we confess our sins, we can know that “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

We might be able to convince others about what we want them to think about us. But God knows our hearts, our past, our present, our motives, and our thoughts. We should not be surprised when we go through times of testing. God wants to refine us and purify us. But He also wants to reveal the things in our lives that need to be dealt with. We might be able to fool others, but we cannot fool Him.