Visits: 39
[Note: This MS is available in larger font on our Manuscripts page.
Introduction
Willard Sperry tells an interesting story in the book, We Prophesy in Part, of a 19th century preacher of some repute.1 He preached the same sermon in three different New York churches on a certain tour, pausing in exactly the same place in each sermon, searching for the same word each time, thus creating a dramatic effect that mightily impressed his audiences. There was one woman in the audience that was not favorably impressed, however. She heard all three sermons and saw by the second hearing that he was only pretending to search for the word with the premeditated pause. To her the man revealed his insincerity—a basic form of dishonesty and she lost her respect for him. I think her reaction was correct. Sperry goes on to say that preaching can survive countless honest errors, but it cannot stand insincerity.
What is true of preachers in this respect, is true of every Christian. We can make our honest mistakes resulting from human weakness and retain a good reputation among those outside of Christ. However, we cannot survive insincerity, dishonesty, and hypocrisy. I am convinced that one thing that hurts the cause of truth as much as any other is that so many Christians profess a godliness they are unwilling to practice. The unbeliever we are studying with will often let this be a hindrance to his Gospel obedience. Whether it ought to be is not the point. This factor should not even exist for one to use as an excuse. Youth’s major criticism of adults is their dishonesty in demanding of them a code of behavior they are unwilling to practice. Even the dishonest deplore dishonesty in others. All of this has to do with that most fundamental ethic of honesty—a principle belonging to the very warp and woof of daily life. If one’s ethical principles do not rest solidly on absolute honesty, he has actually cut himself loose from all ethical principles. Honesty is the cornerstone of God’s entire moral system. How important it is that we carefully study this subject!
What Is Honesty?
As important as this subject is, out of over three-fourths of a million words, the word “honest” appears only once in the American Standard Version. In Luke 8:15 Jesus speaks of an “honest and good heart.” Here it is spoken of with appreciation and admiration, commended and urged as the norm. Honest is a translation of kalos,2 defined as “free from defects, fine, precious …morally good, noble…”3 Vine says that this Greek adjective means “good, admirable, becoming, has also the meaning of what is fair, right, honorable, of such conduct as deserves esteem.”4 Spence says on Luke 8:15:
The expression rendered “honest” (better translated “noble,” kalos) has reference to aims or chief ends, and describes one whose mind is raised above vulgarity, and is bent, not on money-making and such low pursuits, but on the attainment of wisdom, holiness, and righteousness.5
Webster defines our English word, honest, as follows:
Characterized by integrity or fairness and straight forwardness in conduct, thought, speech, etc.; upright; just; equitable; trustworthy; truthful; sincere; free from fraud, guile, or duplicity; not false …6
Although the word honest appears but once, the concept is perpetuated on page after page of the Bible. Romans 12:17 urges, “take thought for things honorable (honest, KJV) in the sight of all men.” Paul again wrote: “Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, (honest, KJV), whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phi. 4:8). Every one of these qualities relates to absolute honesty. Further, every time God’s Word condemns theft, lying, hypocrisy, et al., it is exalting and binding upon us honesty. Likewise, every time truth, purity, righteousness, et al., are enjoined, honesty is thereby required. The trait of honesty is grounded in the very nature of God, for whom it is impossible to lie (Heb. 6:18; Rom. 3:4; Tit. 1:2). Contrariwise, the devil “. . . is a liar, and the father thereof” (John 8:44). It is the nature of our adversary to deceive and to promote deception: “for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:14–15).
Honesty and Things
The way one handles his possession is a crucial test of his honesty. Many indicators force us to conclude that there is a vast and increasing famine of honesty in our times. Although some crimes have been somewhat slowed in their increases recently, those of robbery, burglary, auto theft, grand larceny, confidence schemes, and shoplifting, have continued to increase. In one recent year it was reported that 2% of the retail price of merchandise was necessary to cover losses from shoplifting and employee theft. In another recent year between 250 and 300 businesses were forced into bankruptcy because of employee theft, with losses amounting to over one billion dollars—about twice the losses from burglary that year. It has become routine for merchants to require a polygraph test of prospective employees.
In addition to these occurrences are the unknown, but undoubtedly large quantities of unreported cases of petty theivery, padded expense accounts, embezzlement, investment and mail fraud plus stolen answers and grades and purchased diplomas and degrees in the school atmosphere. Income tax fraud is a major problem of the federal government—and not merely relating to six-figure incomes. In a recent year it was reported that a random sampling of 1040 forms indicated fraud in over 90% of them. With the ready access of computer technology to more and and more people, the new category of theft by computer has arisen and is growing. More and more cases of theft by use of “plastic money” through automatic computerized tellers are being reported. Truly, the opportunities for dishonesty abound and more and more people seem to be eagerly seizing them.
It is sad to know that God’s people are sometimes among those who are less than honest in the handling of their material possessions. Sometimes these even relate to money contributed to the church. When my father preached in Anchorage, Alaska several years ago, the elders began suspecting that more money was being contributed than was being deposited. They began watching the contribution plates more carefully and finally narrowed the possibilities down to a young man who regularly took all the contribution plates to a church office after they had been passed, there to await the money-counting after worship. They noticed that he would always close the door of the office for a brief time when he took the plates in. They decided to confront him and learned that he had been putting a sizeable amount of cash in his shoe each Sunday for several weeks.
Sometimes dishonesty can take a strange and subtle twist. A number of years ago a prosperous deacon set himself against the local preacher. The deacon’s wife smoked, wore shorts in public, and reportedly had been known to drink and dance on occasion. The preacher had preached the Truth on these matters, thereby incurring considerable wrath from said deacon and his wife. The deacon knew that one of the elders (himself a chain-smoker) did not have an undue amount of love for said preacher, so the deacon made a pact with the aforementioned elder to withhold his contribution each Sunday until the “trouble-making” preacher was forced to move. He was once confronted with a question about his withheld contribution, but he held up canceled checks made out to the church, while denying it. A few months later the preacher gave up in frustration and moved. The Sunday he moved, the contribution shot up by several hundred dollars. It later came out that the deacon, with the approval of the elder, had been depositing his contribution check in a savings account so none of it would go to support the preacher he despised; when the preacher moved, he dumped it in the contribution plate immediately. It was allowed to pass as though he had been completely honest in denying that he was withholding his contribution and as though he and the elder involved had been completely honorable in their scheme.
Preachers have certainly not escaped the temptation to be dishonest in their handling of possessions. I am told that preachers are considered a very poor credit risk by many banks and other financial institutions. Now this is not true only because of occasional dishonesty in our men alone or even primarily in our men, but when one of our men leaves a town owing the bank and perhaps several merchants money which he makes no arrangements to pay, it is one too many. A few years ago, a preacher in the city where I lived decided to quit preaching and go into business in the same city. He gave the congregation where he had preached as a reference and leased an expensive downtown office and some very expensive furnishings for it. Not too long before he had bought himself a luxury automobile. When the payments started coming due, his creditors began having difficulty locating him, so they started calling our church office and asking what I knew about him and where he could be found.
I called the other preaching brethren in town (some three or four men) and we agreed that we should talk with this brother and see if we could find out what his problem was and help him, if possible. We did so and learned of the extravagances I have already recounted. We told him that his conduct was hurting the good name of the church and the good reputation of the other men in the room. He assured us that it was not his fault, but that he would take care of these matters. A few weeks later we learned that he had suddenly moved to California, leaving many unpaid bills and debts in his wake. We preachers who were left with the stench of his dishonesty on us all wrote a letter to a respected brother in California to warn of this unsavory character that had moved to that state. When our dishonest brother was confronted with our letter, I received a phone call from him late one night. He was amazed that we would be so cruel and heartless and asked if we were trying to “ruin” him! I explained to him how things really were, a bit more fully even than the letter had done, and I heard no more from him. So far as I know this man never paid his creditors.
To my preaching brethren, let me urge you to bend over backward to provide all things honorable and honest, both before the world and the brethren. Whenever you make a move, you should visit every creditor you have in town and either pay them off or make arrangements with them to settle those accounts after you move. Be sure you leave your new address and phone number with them. If you have been fired and it becomes public knowledge, it is even more imperative that you make such arrangements to protect the Lord’s name and your own name as well. Preachers will usually have many opportunities to be less than honest in handling church money or property. You should keep careful records of what you handle. Far better to have the records and not need them than to need the records and not have them. Better still, just don’t handle any church money if you can avoid it. When certain brethren make it their aim to run you off or destroy you, they can make accusations and raise suspicions that can be difficult to defend yourself against if you don’t have records to support your word. It is tragic that such matters must be recommended in dealing even with brethren, but sad experience urges me to so recommend. Paul’s wisdom led him to choose men from the Gentile churches to go with him as their contributions were carried to the poor in Judea. He did this so that he should not be blamed concerning the money. Said he: “For we take thought for things honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men” (2 Cor. 8:19–21). We should be so wise and careful!
Elders are likewise (and even more so) in a position of temptation in regard to large sums of the church’s money and the oversight and handling of it. They must indeed be men who are “no lovers of money” (1 Tim. 3:3) and “not greedy of filthy lucre” (Tit. 1:7). They should handle the money contributed so circumspectly and provide such accounting of said moneys as to never raise a suspicion of the slightest breach of honesty.
I am persuaded that one of the most frequent abuses of honest handling of possessions is committed by Christians who are less than generous toward the Lord and his work. When a family income is $500 or $600 per week, and it gives only gives only $10 or even $20 per week to the local church it may represent ignorance. However, in many cases it represents a less than honest appraisal of one’s prosperity and of one’s responsibility to use it generously in the service of God who gives all good gifts. Often such brethren will strive mightily to impress their daily associates with how much they are prospering but will seek to impress the Lord with how poor they are on the first day of the week. Brethren, let us be honest in our assessment of our blessings as we purpose what we will give each Lord’s day.
Time after time our God has stated his demand for unquestionable honesty in our handling of material possessions. With his own finger he wrote “Thou shalt not steal” and “Thou shalt not covet” (Exo. 20:15, 17).
All of Israel was punished because of Achan’s dishonesty in stealing the garments, the silver shekels, and the wedge of gold from the spoils of Jericho (Jos. 7:20–21). God’s wrath against such covetousness was displayed in having Achan and his family stoned to death and all of them burned up, as the context shows. Solomon wrote of God’s attitude toward the honest handling of our possessions: “A false balance is an abomination to Jehovah; But a just weight is his delight” (Pro. 11:1). Similarly, he declared: “Diverse weights, and diverse measures, both of them alike are an abomination to Jehovah” (Pro. 20:10). Two centuries later, Amos was inspired to rebuke Israel for rejecting God’s requirement of honesty, as they were “. . . making the ephah small, and the shekel great and dealing falsely with balances of deceit” (Amos 8:5).
The Lord cried out against those dishonest rascals among the Jews who were wont to “devour widows houses” (Mark 12:40). He could not tolerate the presence of the dishonest merchants in the temple (Mat. 21:12–13). Among those who shall not enter Heaven are thieves and extortioners (1 Cor. 6:11). Therefore, Paul commanded: “Let him that stole steal no more …” (Eph. 4:28). Employees are not to purloin from their employers (whether it be time, money or merchandise), but rather to show “all good fidelity” (Tit. 2:10). Likewise, the employer is sternly warned against withholding the hire due his laborers; doing so constitutes fraud (Jam. 5:4). It is clear that God’s standard requires uncompromising honesty in the handling of our material possessions.
Honesty and Words
Dishonesty in our handling of things is often the result of dishonesty with our words. Among the sins frequently condemned in God’s word is lying. His age-spanning attitude toward the dishonest tongue is seen in the ninth commandment: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” (Exo. 20:16). In Solomon’s list of seven abominations in the eyes of the Lord, two of them relate to dishonest speech: “a lying tongue,” … “a false witness that uttereth lies” (Pro. 6: 16–19). Truthfulness in speech is exalted in Proverbs 19:1: “Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity than he that is perverse in his lips and is a fool.”
Jesus constantly emphasized truth and truthfulness and He ever spoke the truth. He charged the Jews: “But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth …” (John 8:40). He reassured the apostles, “. . . I tell you the truth” (16:7) and “. . . if it were not so, I would have told you” (14:2). In our Lord’s famous claim, “I am the way, the truth, and the life …” (14:6), he claimed truth as a primary element of his very nature. God is so much identified with truth that Truth is synonymous with His revealed Word (17:7).
Truthfulness., honesty in ones use of words, is innate to Christian conduct. Paul commands: “Wherefore, putting away falsehood, speak ye the truth each one with his neighbor” (Eph. 4:25). The truth must be spoken, even if it makes enemies: “So then am I become your enemy, by telling you the truth?” (Gal. 4:16).
Again, Paul urges, “lie not one to another; seeing ye have put off the old man with his doings” (Col. 3:9). The Lord made His attitude toward lying known to the Jerusalem church in a most graphic way in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, striking them both dead for lying to the Holy Spirit and to God (Acts 5:1–11). John warns that all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire and brimstone (Rev. 21:8). Simply put, one who is loose and careless with the truth cannot be a faithful child of God and entertain hope of eternal life.
Many of us can remember when honest speech and truthfulness were the rule. They now often appear to be the exception. Our world needs few things worse than it needs the simple honest use of the tongue. There is universal distrust among nations because of the regularity with which treaties are violated, promises broken, and lies told among world leaders. Who can number the unkept promises and the exposures of attempted cover-ups that continually blight our political leaders, from our local courthouses to our nation’s capital? Business transactions are often marred by deceptive advertising, breached contracts, and baseless claims and promises.
Many homes do not have a foundation of honesty. Where a husband and wife are not truthful with each other, doubt, distrust, and suspicion naturally arise. Parents must understand the requirement of setting the consistent example of truthfulness before their children and of training their children to be truthful toward all men. It is sad that it would even have to be said that we must be honest with one another in the Lord’s church, but failures of truthfulness are far too often seen in relationships between brethren.
Preachers and elders must be honest in their dealings with each other. One preacher of some note accepted support from a trusting brotherhood for several years, while concealing his
premillennial views. Only when he was ready to retire did he make them public by writing a large book advocating his views. We cannot see the honesty in accepting support from brethren whom he knew would not knowingly support premillennial dogma. I was recently told of another preacher who admitted he did not believe instrumental music to be a damnable practice, but he continues to preach for and accept support from brethren who so believe. Such is dishonest.
It is also incumbent upon elders to be honest and fulfill their word, whether spoken or written. Those of us who have been preaching very long have encountered elders who have conveniently “forgotten,” have denied making, or have decided not to fulfill promises concerning salary arrangements, vacation time, and other matters. A group of elders that was giving consideration to inviting me to work with them several years ago, assured me that I would hear from them within a few days. About three weeks later I learned through someone who had read their church bulletin that they had invited someone else to work with them. One of the most blatant forms of oral dishonesty in the church in my opinion is that in which elders will terminate their preacher and then turn around and write a glowing letter of recommendation to help them get him on his way.
One of the most consistently condemned uses of falsehood in the Bible is that in which the false teacher engages. Isaiah cried out against “the prophet that teacheth lies” (Isa. 9:15). Jeremiah condemned the prophets of his day who falsely cried, “Peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:13–14). The Lord warned of false prophets who disguise themselves as sheep when actually they are destructive wolves (Mat. 7:15). Paul wrote of some who would fall away from the faith “… through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies” (1 Tim. 4:1–2). Peter referred to the false prophets of the past and warned that there would also be false teachers among those to whom he wrote (2 Pet. 2:1). Such men are described as working privily (Jude 4), passing themselves off as preachers of the Truth (2 Cor. 11:13–15). They compound the dishonesty of their false message by the dishonesty of their tactics. Paul commands us to mark and turn away from such men (Rom. 16:17) and to stop their mouths (Tit. 1:10–11). God’s Word demands that those who profess to speak in His name must “speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11).
Some would try to excuse less than truthful words by calling them “white lies.” However, there is no concept in Scripture that would allow one to lie as long as it is only to a “small degree” or about “minor” things. God knows no distinction between “white lies” and “black lies” and neither may we recognize such.
Honesty and Self
One may be dishonest in the very way he presents himself and projects himself to others. Hypocrisy is a subtle temptation that can slip up on any of us if we do not take care. The hypocrite makes a dishonest representation of himself to others—he is one person at heart, but he wants others to think he is another person. This was the sin our Lord addressed in Matthew 6:5:
And when ye pray, ye shall not be as the hypocrite: for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.
These men wanted to be acclaimed as men of prayer, and of devotion and reverence toward God, but they were not at all. Prayer was merely a means by which they could attract the praises of men. The root of hypocrisy is thus seen to be a basic dishonesty. No wonder Jesus frequently lashed out against hypocrisy. In Matthew 23 alone, He called the scribes and Pharisees “hypocrites” no fewer than seven times. This form of dishonesty is also seen in Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11). Not only did they lie, but apparently, at least part of the motive behind the lie was the desire to receive the notice of their brethren that others had received for their generosity (Acts 4:34–36). However, they also wanted to enjoy a profit from their transaction. They thought they had the matter perfectly planned, but it was all an exercise in hypocrisy—abject dishonesty. Again, the Lord’s attitude was revealed in certain terms toward such wickedness by suddenly taking their lives.
Modern versions of the old sin of hypocrisy are no less offensive to God than the ancient ones. The Christian who can go barhopping on Saturday night and pretend that he is the staunchest saint on Sunday is dishonest. The man who can sing with vigor, “Purer in heart, Oh God,” on the Lord’s day, but engage in shady business tactics on Monday is displaying dishonesty both in his business dealings and in his pretense of being a faithful Christian. Those who project to their neighbors that they are prospering well enough to set the neighborhood standards, but who give of their money to the Lord’s work as if they were at the poverty level are base hypocrites. All such behavior ends in the eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth in Hell (Mat. 24:51).
Another form of dishonesty relating to ourselves has to do with the expectations and limitations we give ourselves when compared with others. When measuring ourselves we sometimes want to bend the rules and lower the standards. We can find excuses for our own failings and “make allowances” for our mistakes and sins. However, we are often not so generous toward others. They had better shape up and “toe the mark”—no excuses. This hyper-critical, super-censorious sort of judgment of others is exactly what Jesus forbade in Matthew 7:1–4. Jesus calls such a judge a “hypocrite” (v. 5). Such a one has a double standard—two sets of scales. One is for himself, and the other is for all others! Let us take great care that in our judgments of others we do not judge ourselves for practicing the same things (Rom. 2:1).
Let us ever be careful to apply the perfect standard of God’s Word to all equally, including ourselves and our loved ones, “. . . doing nothing by partiality” (1 Tim. 5:21). Any other course involves us in the dishonesty of hypocrisy.
Roots of Dishonesty
All dishonesty may be traced to two principal sources. First, the dishonest person has no respect for men, either for himself or for his fellows. The thief says, in effect, “I don’t care what sentimental value this watch or ring has to you. I want it and I will take it.” The “con” operators do not respect the limitations of those who have reached the sunset years, nor how hard they worked for 40 or 50 years to accumulate a sum for their retirement. All they care about is the money they can swindle from them. The armed robber respects neither life nor limb of his fellow man in his willingness to violently take that which is not his own. There is no pause in the dishonest heart to consider how badly the victim may need his or her possessions. There is only the scheming and plotting of how to get it without being caught.
The liar is little different. The car salesman who turns back the odometer from 90,000 to 30,000 has no respect for his victim. The unprincipled merchant or salesman that makes claims for his merchandise that are completely untruthful so that he might make his quota and his profit or commission, says in effect, “I don’t care about you or whether you get your money’s worth.” The talebearer, in his or her haste to tell the latest, says, “I don’t care about your name, your reputation or your influence.”
Similarly, the hypocrite, the modern Pharisee, has a lust for praise, honor, and exaltation without earning it. Thus, he deceives others for his own benefit, thereby showing a woeful disregard for others.
In some ways, worst of all, the habitually dishonest person evinces an utter lack of self-respect. He cares not what sort of deception, chicanery, or low-down trick to which he must resort; the end justifies the means. He or she has no shame, no self-respect. Conscience has long ago been quieted and any hint of a heart sensitive to truth and honor has been seared. Where there is no self–respect, how can there by respect for others?
Second, the dishonest person disregards God. Every area of deception and dishonesty reflects on God, the very embodiment of Truth. Joseph serves as a worthy example of the power of genuine respect for God in one’s life. His reply to the lurid suggestion of Potiphar’s wife was, “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:9). He knew that whether any of Potiphar’s servants or Potiphar himself ever discovered that which as Mrs. Potiphar proposed, God would know. Granting that it would have shown great disrespect for Potiphar, for his wife, and for Joseph himself, he went to the heart of the matter—every immoral and dishonest act is a sin against God!
We can see the principle demonstrated in Ananias and Sapphira. They did not respect God; they thought they were lying only to fallible men, but in truth they were lying to God and the Holy Spirit. Had they respected God, they would never have lied to men. The same principle applies to the hypocrite, who forgets that while he can deceive some men with his false front, there is Another watching Who cannot be deceived.
The antidote for all dishonesty is due respect for God. When man loses his respect for God, he always exchanges “the truth of God for a lie” (Rom. 1:25). Respect for God means respect for His perfect nature of truth and veracity. He will not want to offend these traits in God’s nature. Rather, respect will make one strive to emulate them. Due respect for God cannot be severed from obedience to His Word. It ever demands honesty of us; it ever condemns dishonesty. The progressive downward slide into general dishonesty in our own nation has increased in direct proportion to the growing level of disrespect for God and His Word among our fellow citizens.
Conclusion
The consequences of dishonesty are grave. The victim of theft or lying is deprived of that which is rightly his. One who believes the lie of the false teacher will be damned (2 The. 2:11–12). The dishonest false teacher shall be lost, but those who follow such blind guides will be also (Mat. 15:14). The dishonest person heaps troubles upon his own head even in this world. Each lie requires others for substantiation of the previous one. Confusion of mind and life in a fantasy world may finally result. The thief must spend his life as a fugitive, ever looking over his shoulder for those who seek to halt his mischief.
The modern version of honesty is a pragmatic one: “I’ll use whatever means necessary to make my fortune and serve my own ends.” Many are “honest” nowadays only when they know they are being observed or when they know they can’t get by with cheating, lying, or stealing. Their only cardinal sin is getting caught! In reverse, this translates into being dishonest whenever one thinks he can get by with it. What a sad commentary all of this is on the shattered and crumbling moral fabric of civilized man!
Honesty knows no degrees. There is no such thing as being almost honest. One is either honest or he is dishonest, period. This is the eternal principle enunciated by the Lord: “He that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much: and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much” (Luke 16:10). Honesty is not only the best policy. It is the only policy for God’s people. It is the very foundation principle of Christ’s way and God’s nature. Honesty is the basis of a true character. Other qualities may add to its splendor and grace, but if it is lacking, the luster of all other qualities fades. Let us never allow anything less than honesty to be the standard of our lives, remembering that Jesus commended the “honest and good heart” (Luke 8:15).
Footnotes
- Willard Sperry, We Prophesy in Part (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1938).
- Although the English word honest appears only in Luke 8:15 in the ASV, the adjective kalos and its attendant adverb are found several times and are translated honest or honestly in the KJV. (e.g., Romans 12:17; 2 Cor. 8:21; 13:7; Heb. 13:18; 1 Pet. 2:12, et al).
- William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Pub. House, 1957) p. 401.
- E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (Westwood, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Co. 1966) p. 229.
- D.M. Spence, St. Luke, Pulpit Commentary, H.D.M. Spence and Joseph S. Exell, ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1950) vol. 16, sec. 2, p. 204.
- William Allan Nelson, ed., Websters New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Co., 1957) p. 1195.
[Note: I wrote this MS for and presented a digest of it orally at the Eighth Annual Fort Worth Lectures, hosted by the Brown Trail Church of Christ, Bedford, TX, January 12-16, 1985. It was published in the book Morals in an Immoral Age, ed Eddie Whitten, (Bedford, TX Christian Supply Center, 1985).]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
