Does Honesty Really Pay?

honesty paids of - honesty received God's approval
Philippines
August 26, 2010 3:30am CST
I'll always remember the day when as a child i found a pretty hair clip on the school playground. I brought them home, thinking they wouldn't be missed. But mom made me take them to my teacher. "They belong to someone else," mom told me. Since then it often reminded me of this early lesson in honesty. So i taught this to my son. One day i was putting bags of groceries when my 13 years old son discovered a pencil at the bottom of the cart that wasn't paid for, so my son went back into the store, waited in a line, apologized to the cashier and paid for the pencil. A man behind him, challenged him, "It's only a pencil! Who would have known? Weren't you a bit silly to come back?" My son said "Should you ever lose your wallet,I think you'll hope that somebody silly like me finds it!" That's worth far more than all the riches in the world, isn't it?
1 person likes this
12 responses
• United Arab Emirates
26 Aug 10
Wow i am really impressed with your son', really way to go. I think we should ignoe those people who stop anyone to be Honest. I am sure that honesty always pays. Today ot tommorow good deed never goes waste. I had the same expeience once someone left pruse full of money in our store, i had to walk for 1km to find them and return and see they are our good customers and they are reffering to others also. I ALWAYS PAYS!
• Philippines
26 Aug 10
Hi, a good deed, received more blessings and a clear conscience. keep it up.
@aevans (255)
• Malaysia
31 Aug 10
You must be proud of your son. For me, honesty always pays. There is one time I found $20 at a market, I kept the money and wait for the owner to come back. Although, she just gave thank to me, people might say that I am dull. I feel that the happiness I get is more than money can buy. It is a good culture that we should nurture in our society to make a better world.
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
26 Aug 10
Good for your son. And it is good that kids learn early that stealing doesn't pay.
• United States
27 Aug 10
Golly gee what a wonderful boy, but first and foremost what a wonderful mom you are for education your son properly and doing such a great job This will take him far in life as honesty will always be the best policy.
@lacieice (2060)
• United States
27 Aug 10
Honesty always pays. Lies and cheating have a way of coming back and biting you in the butt. When my son was very young, he and some other boys stole a gum from a little corner market. I marched him down and he had to go to the owner and tell him what he had done and apologize. The owner was very nice about it, and told my son if he needed something that bad, to come and ask. I think my son learned a valuable lesson that day.
@ptower76 (1616)
• United States
26 Aug 10
Out of the mouths of babes. It is really inspiring how we can learn even from the youngest in society. Honesty is indeed the best food for the spirit. While your son wss perhaps a few pennies poorer, he was spiritually enhanced by his action. Happened to me once as a child. I am catholic and I found a dollar bill on the playground. I was 7 years old and I ran over to the person watching over us and told her. She informed me that the money was not mine and that it was a mortal sin to keep it. And so i put it in my pocket and waited for Sunday Mass and put it in the offering that week since i had no idea who it belonged to. When my brothers saw me put it in the box they asked me where I got the money and told me they were going to tell mom. I was not worried because i felt i did the right thing. When I explained to mom she hugged me and a tear escaped from the corner of her eye. I knew i did the right thing then.
• India
26 Aug 10
Yes, definitely so! Such acts of honestly keep our conscience clean and that’s worth a million bucks! We should always be able to look ourselves straight in the mirror. My son, who’s 11, keeps on losing pencils and erasers and pens in class. I wonder, even if he’s just kept it on his desk or if its fallen on the floor, some boy or girl must be picking it up and taking it home…howcome they never return it? Howcome their parents never tell them anything! Anyways, learning by example, my son too brought home a used eraser one day (to compensate for his lost one)…I immediately put it back in his bag to return to the class teacher. I also told him to think about how he feels everytime he loses something…
@SimpleBB (1329)
• Philippines
26 Aug 10
That's awesome for a 13-year old boy. So, you have proven yourself that being honesty really pays of. And I assume, you didn't expect what your son had been done would bring him to be your pride. You reap the fruit of what you taught him. And for sure, the man who challenged your kid was dumbfounded for doing so..lol. Congratulations!
@sender621 (14894)
• United States
26 Aug 10
It may not be the cool thing to be honest. Being honest is the right way to live your life. It may take a while, but i believe that honesty will pay in the end. It is better to be honest and have self-wort than to live your life being dishonest. This only brings shame to you.
@kukueye (1759)
• Malaysia
26 Aug 10
Yes honesty does pay , pay not by monetary, but more of self satification.Teaching a kid about honesty is a good start to good foundation so that on that day he will make his own decision.Yes sadly in this world, honesty is stupid.But that is innocent lost.Hopely there is wisdom when to be honest and not.Haha.
@jhyan007 (467)
• Philippines
26 Aug 10
....i love the way you raise your son...now a days, specially in our country children were used as a tool in stealing something...it's sad, but people don't realize how worst it is....sooner or later, those kids will grow old and what do you think they will become? - Criminals, that's for sure, specially if they were not taught what is good and what is bad...honesty is the best policy, that is what i always see in every classroom when i was still young...surely, honesty really pay..in the future, when i have my own family and have my own children, first thing they will learn will be "honesty"...thanks for the discussion..
• Portugal
26 Aug 10
I think it is better to bring up a child who learns the meaning of honesty and finds out the hard way if they find/steal an object that does not belong to them. As a child grows older dishonesty can lead to worse crimes being committed. If these crimes are found out a person can be punished in a much greater way either with a fine or possibly imprisonment as an adult.