If you were in a restaurant and the waiter accidentally undercharged you for your dinner, would you correct the error or pocket the difference?

If you found a wallet with $1,000 in it, would you contact the authorities so they could try to find the owner, or would you stop off at the bank for a quick deposit?

Money magazine has been asking those questions, and the answers aren't good. Americans are becoming less honest. In 1987, Money's survey found that 15 percent of respondents would not tell the waiter about the error. In 1994, they discovered that 24 percent would keep the secret and the money. In the first survey, 4 percent said they'd keep the wallet. Seven years later, the number had climbed to 25 percent.

It certainly looks as if honesty is becoming less and less popular. As Christians, we need to be committed to being honest. Whether we are filling out a tax form, completing a business expense account, or just relating something that happened to us, we need to tell the truth. Peter said our honorable conduct is one way to glorify God (1 Pet. 2:12). If honesty is indeed on the decline, that gives us a greater opportunity to set the example "for the Lord's sake" (v.13) before a watching world.  — Dave Branon