"I was honest once, and it felt really good. If you're not honest, you just look bad," says Brittani, age 6.

Once?

"Honesty is important because people have to trust you to be a friend," says Natalie, 9. "You should be honest so people will always believe in you, no matter what," adds Cecile, 8.

A wise biblical proverb says, "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches" (Proverbs 22:1). Your name and reputation are all you have. Once they're gone, you're broke. Wise people resist the short-term gain of deceit because they know honesty pays big dividends in the long run.

"You should be honest because if you aren't, the guilt will tear you up inside," says Mallorie, 12. "You can tell if someone is honest because they are happier," adds Scott, 11.

Peace of mind is one of honesty's many dividends, and it usually shows on a person's face. If someone is lying, "their face is kind of looking weird," says Emily, 6.

Actually, the eyes tell the story, says Cody, 12: "If you look straight into someone's eyes, you can see the word 'liar' or 'honest person.'"

I've never seen these words in people's eyes, Cody, but it's often the case that a shifty-eyed person is up to no good. At least, that's the way it is in western movies when the camera gets a close-up of the guys wearing the black hats.

"Sometimes when you lie, people ask questions about the lie, and then you have to lie again," says Ashley, 8. You've heard of chain-smoking? Here, we have "chain-lying." Just as the chain-smoker lights one cigarette on another, the chain-liar tells one lie to cover another. The mental energy alone to remember all the lies takes its toll.

"Honesty is telling the whole truth, even if it gets you into trouble," says Matthew, 11. Jesus didn't promise us a rose garden in this world. He said, "In the world, you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

Have you ever had a dishonest boss who hinted that if you told the truth about something, your job would be in jeopardy? If you're determined to be honest, get ready for tests.

"An honest person has one of the most important virtues," says Matthew, 12.

In "The Book of Virtues," author William Bennett defines honesty as "real, genuine, authentic and bona fide. To be dishonest is to be partly feigned, forged, fake or fictitious. Honesty expresses both self-respect and respect for others. Dishonesty fully respects neither oneself nor others. Honesty imbues lives with openness, reliability and candor; it expresses a disposition to live in the light."

"You should be honest because it is good, and God likes it," says Colby, 7. Thank you, Colby, for your brevity and candor. In the Bible, honesty is not an abstract concept. It begins by being honest with God. He created us to live in an open, honest relationship with him. Remember what Adam and Eve did when they heard God walking in the garden after they sinned? They hid.

"You should be an honest person always to God and Jesus," says Frances, 8.

If you hide from God, you'll be exposed. Your mask will fall, and your web of deceit will come undone.

Point to ponder: Determine to live honestly and openly before God and people.

Scripture to remember: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

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Justice means giving each person what he or she deserves or, in more traditional terms, giving each person his or her due. Justice and fairness are closely related terms that are often today used interchangeably. There have, however, also been more distinct understandings of the two terms. While justice usually has been used with reference to a standard of rightness, fairness often has been used with regard to an ability to judge without reference to one's feelings or interests; fairness has also been used to refer to the ability to make judgments that are not overly general but that are concrete and specific to a particular case. In any case, a notion of desert is crucial to both justice and fairness. The Nortons and Ellisons of this world, for example, are asking for what they think they deserve when they are demanding that they be treated with justice and fairness. When people differ over what they believe should be given, or when decisions have to be made about how benefits and burdens should be distributed among a group of people, questions of justice or fairness inevitably arise. In fact, most ethicists today hold the view that there would be no point of talking about justice or fairness if it were not for the conflicts of interest that are created when goods and services are scarce and people differ over who should get what. When such conflicts arise in our society, we need principles of justice that we can all accept as reasonable and fair standards for determining what people deserve.

But saying that justice is giving each person what he or she deserves does not take us very far. How do we determine what people deserve? What criteria and what principles should we use to determine what is due to this or that person?

Principles of Justice
The most fundamental principle of justice—one that has been widely accepted since it was first defined by Aristotle more than two thousand years ago—is the principle that "equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally." In its contemporary form, this principle is sometimes expressed as follows: "Individuals should be treated the same, unless they differ in ways that are relevant to the situation in which they are involved." For example, if Jack and Jill both do the same work, and there are no relevant differences between them or the work they are doing, then in justice they should be paid the same wages. And if Jack is paid more than Jill simply because he is a man, or because he is white, then we have an injustice—a form of discrimination—because race and sex are not relevant to normal work situations.

There are, however, many differences that we deem as justifiable criteria for treating people differently. For example, we think it is fair and just when a parent gives his own children more attention and care in his private affairs than he gives the children of others; we think it is fair when the person who is first in a line at a theater is given first choice of theater tickets; we think it is just when the government gives benefits to the needy that it does not provide to more affluent citizens; we think it is just when some who have done wrong are given punishments that are not meted out to others who have done nothing wrong; and we think it is fair when those who exert more efforts or who make a greater contribution to a project receive more benefits from the project than others. These criteria—need, desert, contribution, and effort—we acknowledge as justifying differential treatment, then, are numerous.

On the other hand, there are also criteria that we believe are not justifiable grounds for giving people different treatment. In the world of work, for example, we generally hold that it is unjust to give individuals special treatment on the basis of age, sex, race, or their religious preferences. If the judge's nephew receives a suspended sentence for armed robbery when another offender unrelated to the judge goes to jail for the same crime, or the brother of the Director of Public Works gets the million dollar contract to install sprinklers on the municipal golf course despite lower bids from other contractors, we say that it's unfair. We also believe it isn't fair when a person is punished for something over which he or she had no control, or isn't compensated for a harm he or she suffered. And the people involved in the "brown lung hearings" felt that it wasn't fair that some diseases were provided with disability compensation, while other similar diseases weren't.

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