Information Related to "How "Fair Dinkum" Are You?"
| Audio/Video |
How "Fair Dinkum" Are You? By Anne Burchard Why do you do the things you do? Why do you say the things you say? Are you hiding behind a facade of fears and false values? How real are you?
n Australia, if someone referred to you as being fair dinkum, they would be paying you a great compliment. Businesses advertise their products as being fair dinkum, while others guarantee fair dinkum bargains and services. An article printed on the www.WorldWideWords.org Web site said fair dinkum was possibly an English dialect word brought to Australia by settlers. It originally meant work, but was later extended to a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. Finally, it was translated to mean honest, genuine and reliable. So being considered fair dinkum implies that a person is regarded as authentic and trustworthy. Everyone expects honesty in our dealings and relationships. Yet most of us have been misled and hurt by others lying to us at some time. Every day we hear about broken promises, corporate collapses, cheating and examples of businesses "cutting corners." Jim Clemmer of The Clemmer Management Group, states in his Web page on practical leadership that honesty and integrity are key ingredients in developing trust. Trust is a key element in establishing credibility. Our credibility is at the center of our ability to influence others. How fair dinkum are you? Honesty can be somewhat of a paradox. It is a quality rated above hard work, self-confidence and punctuality, but when people hear a truth that doesn't match their opinion, they don't like it. Then it becomes criticized and berated.
While the world condemns dishonesty in those we expect to trust, we pay little heed to the impact of our own falsehoods on ourselves and others. Why do you do the things you do? Why do you say the things you say? Are you as fair dinkum as you think you are? Maybe you're hiding behind a facade of fears and false values? How real are you? The truth about lies There are two classes of people: those running after something and those running away from something. The latter are fugitives from real or imagined fears. People lie for many reasons. Their failure to face up to the truth generally stems from fear. For example, some are afraid to level with family and friends about something negative for fear of hurting their feelings and being rejected. Employees refrain from pointing out errors to the boss for fear of being fired. Young people indulge in questionable behavior for fear of not being accepted by their peers. In many cases, people will lie to simply protect themselves from embarrassment, punishment and, in extreme cases, even losing their lives.
Satan continues to deceive the whole world today (Revelation 12:9) by blinding man's mind to God's truth. God's Word records for us examples of lying, deceit and murder by individuals in moments of weakness. In Genesis 12:13 and 20:11, Abraham reasoned that by telling Pharaoh and king Abimelech a half-truth about Sarah being his sister instead of his wife, he could save his life. King David, in order to cover up his adultery with Bathsheba, resorted to deceit and conspired to murder her husband Uriah on the battlefront (2 Samuel 11). Lying about how much money they gave to the Church cost Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, their lives (Acts 5:1-10). Man's ways, which seem so right to him, lead to many of the world's problems and eventually end in death (Proverbs 14:12). All of us have been disappointed with ourselves when we told an untruth or avoided facing up to error. We remember the guilty feeling and the fear of being found out.
Being honest defines who we are. Are you happy with your standard of integrity? You can remove the barriers hiding the real you and open the way to deeper truths in your life. For those who think on godly principles, the answers can be found in the Bible because God's Word is truth (John 17:17). Christian faith demands greater honesty Man's destiny to become part of God's eternal family requires us to see how our thoughts and ways are inferior to God's (Isaiah 55:9) and change them. To do so, we must sincerely allow the truth of God's Word to cut through our natural resistance to His way (Hebrews 4:12). King David, in his repentant prayer to God (Psalm 51:6), understood it was not only his obvious sins that condemned him, but the hidden intents of his heart and thoughts.
In answering Pilate, Christ told him the reason He came into the world was to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37). True followers of Jesus understand that their faith in Him demands greater honesty in their daily lives. Real Christians love the truth. They know they can rely on God's Word because it is the truth. Christ promised to give them the Holy Spirit -- the Spirit of truth -- to help them change their ways to God's (John 16:13). Hebrews 11 records, for our encouragement and inspiration, the examples of many who submitted themselves totally to God. They did so because they found God to be absolutely trustworthy. Their faith in His promises enabled them to endure cruel trials and tests, even to the point of torture and death. Others witnessed miracles and mighty interventions in their lives. Honesty in our day-to-day relationships and our dealings with others enables us to self-correct when faced with higher spiritual truths. God longs for us to face up to our spiritual shortcomings so we can overcome them. We can show Him how fair dinkum we are by our willingness to repent of our ways and accept God's way of righteousness. By doing so, we become more like Him. Recommended reading What reassurance it is to know God cannot tell a lie. We can trust Him completely when He says He wants all men to be saved. However, in order to be saved, man must repent of wrongdoing and embrace God's way of truth. To learn more how these changes can be achieved, read our free booklet . Copyright 2006 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved. |
|||||||||||||||
Related Information:
Other Articles by Anne Burchard
Origin of article "How "Fair Dinkum" Are You?"
Keywords: fair dinkum fairness honesty integrity lies truth
Fairness: