In Aesop’s classic fairytale “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,”
a shepherd boy found it amusing to make the people of his village come running
by calling out “Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!” The villagers,
angry at being duped, warned the boy to not cry wolf when there was no threat.
The boy, however, was heedless and repeated his prank two more times. One day,
an actual wolf appeared. The boy cried out “Wolf! Wolf!” and the villagers,
believing it to be yet another trick by the dishonest boy, didn’t bother to run
to his aid.
As the sun set and the boy hadn’t returned to the
village, people started to wonder what happened. When they went to check on
him, they found him weeping. “There was a real wolf! The sheep scattered!” lamented
the boy. He asked a kindly old man why no one came to his aid, and the old man
told him, “Nobody believes a liar. Even when he’s telling the truth.”
Aesop gives us an important
lesson in the true value of honesty. When
people lie, cheat or steal, they become untrustworthy. On those occasions when
a liar tells the truth, people can’t trust them. Even a small lie—a “white
lie”—can undermine the trust of others, so it’s important to be an honest
person in all of our affairs.
It can be tempting to tell a small lie when you think
it might benefit you or prevent you from being punished. Say, for example, you
accidentally break something very precious that belongs to your mother. You
didn’t do it on purpose, but you’re ashamed that you managed to break a thing
your mother held so dear, and so you blame it on your infant brother. After
all, he can’t speak up and defend himself, and nobody will punish a baby, so
you should be fine.
But you’re not fine. You’ve undermined your
relationship with your mother and you’ve damaged your own sense of integrity by
not being honest. Doubtless you will experience a degree of guilt and remorse
about the lie that will eat at you as time goes on. The lie, and the brief
protection it bought you from punishment, turns out to be far more punishing.
Had you been honest in the first place, your mother may well have been upset,
but it’s pretty certain that she loves you more than she’d ever love an object,
and so you would soon be forgiven. After having lied about it, even if you come
clean later on and admit your wrongdoing, you’ve already hurt yourself by being
dishonest.
Honesty also means being genuine. Honest people don’t
exaggerate or lie about who they are or what they’ve accomplished. An honest
Martial Artist on the path to earning his Black Belt would never tell another
person he was already a Black Belt. In fact, lying about your belt status would
be the exact opposite of Black Belt excellence and, if your Sensei found out
about your falsehood, you might not be allowed to advance. Even if Sensei never
found out; what if your friend did? What would she think of a person who had to
lie to impress her? How well would the relationship turn out, after having been
built on a lie?
When you think about it, honesty means more than just
what you say; it’s also about how you live and what you do on a day-to-day
basis. Honest people are those who show up to class or work on time and who do
what’s expected of them. Honest people live lives of character and quality,
always seeking to be helpful and honorable. Perhaps most importantly, honest
people are truthful even when the truth of their words or actions could be
hurtful to others—including themselves.
Honesty is telling the truth no matter what. It is
being truthful even when admitting the truth disappoints someone. Being honest
is being truthful—even when it hurts. As Martial Artists, we are honest with
others and ourselves. Always remember be honest, to represent yourself as a
true Black Belt Champion.
