Have you ever been dishonest? I have..

Billy Joel, in his song, Honesty sings:

If you search for tenderness, It isn't hard to find

You can have the love you need to live

But if you look for truthfulness

You might just as well be blind

It always seems to be so hard to give

Have you ever been dishonest? I have. 40 Years ago. I must admit ashamedly that one day at school, a classmate and I were asked by Mr Zia, our Biology Teacher to buys flowers and frogs for a biology practical class to help us study dissection. We went to the market together the previous evening and purchased sufficient quantities of both these items. We then requested the vendor inflate the bill by 10 rupees which we pocketed. We handed over the items to Mr. Zia the next day and with much trepidation handed over the false receipt (my heart beat so hard I was sure it could be heard), and the balance of the advance given to us. Mr. Zia suspected nothing and instead he pulled out a ten rupee note and handed it to us and asked us to share it between us for our efforts.

Even today, I feel so bad with this act of dishonesty. I swore then, that nothing was ever worth being dishonest: the price to pay within oneself was too high. One loses one’s own self-worth within oneself. It is just not worth it. I am proud to say that I have lived a life of honesty, never ever succumbing to any temptation or abuse, and have lived my life with my head held high. Being truthful to oneself and being honest at all times is the highest of all virtues. When one is truthful, you never need to remember what you said earlier: it was truth then, and it is truth now. The bible says most eloquently, ‘and the truth shall set you free.’ I have always remembered this in my career: that eventually truth will emerge. And it has. Many would have disagreed with me, ignored me but with time, truth emerges as it does and I would stand vindicated.

Have you ever been dishonest? Join me and comment.