Well, I guess it would just make sense, given the way Proverbs approaches life, that honesty would be a key theme in Proverbs. There is simply no place in all of the Bible that holds before us more the importance, the blessing, and the honor of a life of honesty and integrity. When I first wrote those words down on a piece of paper, I immediately thought of Psalm 51. As David is confessing his sin, he says, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity," that literally, "The wicked go astray from the womb (You know what the Bible says next?) speaking lies"
One of the things that sin does to us to us; it removes truth from our mouths. It's the tragedy of the damage of sin. Yet there is a God of truth who prizes truthfulness in every way. Read the Proverbs and you will know that dishonest gain is the fool's way and wisdom's way is always honest in every way.
I can say this to you for sure, "There is literally no chapter in 31 chapters of Proverbs that doesn't talk about honesty in someway." If honesty were the color red, the entire book of Proverbs would be dyed red; that's how significant this is.
Now that makes sense because God is the ultimate source of everything that's right and true. I was hit by this when I was reading through the Proverbs; I came across Proverbs, chapter 6, verses 16 through 18. This is a very familiar passage:
There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
I was sort of laughing at this, "There are six things; seven that are an abomination," because there are only actually six things mentioned here because lying is mentioned twice. It's the way the list begins and it's the way the list ends. A lying tongue there in the beginning; a false witness there in the bottom. I mean, this is so reprehensible to this God of wisdom, that in His list of things He hates, He mentions it twice just so we'd get the point.
Wisdom is always truthful; hear the words of Proverbs 8: 6 through 9. This is talking about what wisdom does:
Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right, for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are righteous; and there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. They are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge.
Why is lying such an abomination to the Lord? Because every lie is rooted in idolatry. I lie because there's something more important to me than the honor and the will and the plan of God. If you want to know how much idolatry is in your life, look at the way that you bend and twist the truth for some pleasure, for some benefit, other than what the Lord calls you to!
