honesty by eguriase s. m. okaka
HONESTY
By Eguriase S. M. Okaka
Honesty refers to a facet of moral character, the quality of being straightforward, and telling the truth all the time without lying, stealing and cheating.
Honesty is a positive value everybody desire to have and identify with. Honesty promotes good relationship among friends, families and the society. It makes people to deal fairly and justly with one another.
Reasons why people are honest
There are many reasons that make people to be honest. Some of them include:
• Fear of God (to avoid sin)
• To promote one’s integrity
• To avoid shame, disgrace, and loss of trust
• For self dignity and respect
• To promote good relationship with others based on trust.
• For reliability.
• Ways people demonstrate honesty
• By being transparent when dealing with others.
• By being truthful to everyone at all times.
• Keeping and fulfilling agreement of any kind.
• By not stealing or lying
• By not being greedy
• By doing what is right at all times.
Attribute of honesty
• Discipline
• Faithfulness
• Integrity
• Transparency
• Uprightness
• Contentment
• Fairness
• Trustworthiness
• Truthfulness
Let us now explain the about attributes of honesty for a better understanding.
• Discipline: It is a way of training one’s mind or controlling one’s behavior in order to obey rules. Discipline is a positive value that must be acquired by us. Acquiring discipline enables us to deal with one another honestly. An honest person is always discipline.
• Faithfulness: It is the quality of remaining loyal to someone or something and continuing to support such a person or thing. Society today needs people that are faithful to a good cause that will improve the living standard of the society. When a person is faithful, he or she is honest.
• Integrity: It is quality of being upright in character and having strong moral principles. Integrity is also an attitude honesty. A man with integrity is an honest person.
• Transparency: It is the quality of being easily seen through. The quality of openness that makes something obvious or easy to understand. An honest person is transparent when dealing with others. His ways are clear, open and easy to understand.
• Uprightness: It is the quality of always behaving in an honest way. A man that is upright in all his ways is an honest person. The person is therefore worthy of emulation.
• Contentment: It is the quality of being happy and satisfied with whatever one has. A contented person is an honest person who is satisfied with what he has. Anybody that is satisfied with what he or she has will not be greedy and will ever continue to be honest.
• Fairness: It is the quality of being responsible, upright and honest in doing things. A fair man is an honest person that does the right thing at the right time. A person who does things fairly is considered an honest person.
• Trustworthiness: This attribute of honesty is associated with a person who is sincere and honest at all times. It means relying or trusting the person completely. A trustworthy man is an honest person.
• Truthfulness: This is the quality of being honest and saying the true facts about something or any situation before the person. Any honest person always tell/say the truth at all times, no matter the situation he or she finds himself or herself.
Benefit of honesty
The benefits of honesty are numerous. Honesty brings the following:
• Recognition: Honest persons are easily been recognized by, family, and the society.
• Reliability: An honest person is relied upon when have dealings with him. For example, a business that is honest in his dealing with customers is always relied on when they are buying their goods than a dishonest business man.
• Reward: Honest people get rewarded for their honesty. A child in a school can get rewarded for being honest. A police man can get promoted for his honesty, and lots more. A dishonest person gets punished for his dishonesty.
• Respect: An honest person is highly esteemed or respected by friends, family and the society at large. To earn people’s respect, you have to be honest when dealing with them.
• Peace, happiness and understanding: When people deal with one another honestly, there will be understanding, happiness and peace. If our representatives and leaders in government deal with the citizens honestly, there will be peace in that country.
• Eliminate fear: Fear is completely eliminated when people deal with one another honestly. Fear of being killed, cheated, framed up, etc., will not be there.
• Honesty attracts honesty: A person that is honest is easily being attracted to another person that is also honest. Every honest person seeks to work or do business with another honest person.
• It eliminates corruption: When people in the society are honest to themselves or do business with others. Corruption will be totally reduced or completely eliminated.
• Honesty fosters courage and keeps one out of trouble.
• It promotes accountability and transparency: An honest person is transparent and always accountable to his people or his employer thereby encouraging others to emulate him or her.
• Honesty brings about trust: People who are honest are usually trusted in all area especially when holding public offices. Honest people are usually encouraged and entrusted with holding sensitive positions in the offices, schools, government etc. in some school, only honest students are made school prefect.
• Brings about promotion in workplace: Honest people get easily promoted in their place of work than others who are dishonest.
DISHONESTY
Dishonesty is an act without honesty; being deliberately deceptive/deceitful, cheating, lying and greedy. Dishonesty is the direct opposite of honesty. it is a negative value which everybody must fight against.
Ways people show dishonesty
• By lying, cheating and engaging in fraudulent acts.
• Falsification of results and other documents.
• By getting involved in examination malpractices.
• By hacking the internet (internet fraud).
• By not being transparent.
• By being greedy.
• By encouraging corruption e.g. taking bribe, etc.
Consequences of dishonesty
The consequences of being dishonest are grave, bad and inimical to the development of the society. The consequences are as follows:
• Dishonesty brings about distrust and hate among people in the society.
• It brings shame and disgrace to the dishonest person, and sometimes his or her family.
• It brings loss of self-esteem: A dishonest person losses confidences and self-respect in his community and the society at large.
• Dishonesty leads to bribery and corruption which hinders the progress, growth and development of a country.
• It causes disunity and confusion among individuals and people of the community. For example, when a dishonest person is among them for his own self interest.
• Dishonest people usually cause conflicts and division between two communities about something that never existed because he or she desire favor from them thereby causing disunity which may lead to a serious conflict.
Questions
• Explain the meaning of honesty.
• List five attributes of honesty.
• Explain two attributes of honesty.
• Mention three reasons why people are honest.
• State five ways people demonstrate dishonesty.
• List seven benefits of honesty.
• What is dishonesty?
• Mention five ways people show dishonesty.
• List four consequences of dishonesty.
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