Inspiring Stories About Honesty And Truthfulness For Kids: Honesty or truthfulness is one of the most valuable virtues of human personality. This virtue is the basic building block of our character. Honesty helps in developing good attributes like kindness, discipline, truthfulness, moral integrity, and more.
Lying, cheating, lack of trust, stealing, greed and other immoral attributes have no part in Honesty. Honest people are sincere, trustworthy, and loyal, throughout their life. In all your relationships, honesty is what makes you much more reliable and trustworthy.
By being honest, you get people to trust you more. However, it’s a sad truth that most people in our society generally succumb to temptations when stumbling upon opportunities like gaining a high position, fame, money, and so on.
But the stories given below will prove that even today the importance of virtue like honesty has not diminished.
1. Nothing Can Dissuade An Honest Man From His Path
The desire to attain worldly pleasures is present in the mind of almost all people and their attraction is irresistible. However, it will not affect people of great character and high moral principles who would stand firm and shun any such temptations.
They would attach more importance to their sense of duty and principles than any ill-gotten material gains. Temptations cannot sway them. Late Chimanlal Shitalvad was amongst such great personalities.
He was working in a high-profile position at Bombay University (India) in those days. One rich man approached Chimanlal with some selfish motive. The task was within the ambits of Chimanlal’s authority.
The man tried to bribe him to get the work done but Chimanlal flatly refused to accept the bribe. The man kept raising the amount of the bribe money to tempt Chimanlal into accepting it but without success.
When even the offer of above one lakh rupees didn’t work, the man really got annoyed and said,”Mr. Chimanlal! You will never get anyone else who offers you such an enormous amount of money.”
“Sir, you too will never find anyone who refuses to accept such a big amount of money!”-Chimanlal retorted. Chimanlal’s unflinching honesty and tenacity stunned the man who had no other option but to beat a hasty retreat.
2. Importance of Honesty, Hard Work, And Truthfulness
Three travelers were staying overnight in the same dormitory. The travelers were a farmer, a beggar, and a thief. They all had a bag of belongings each. Late in the night, when there was silence in the room, their luggage bags started conversing with each other.
The bags of the beggar and the thief suggested that all three bags should unite. The farmer’s bag said, “I don’t have a problem in uniting but then what will happen to the hard work, truthfulness, and honesty”
The other two bags realized their shortcomings and stayed quiet thereafter. What is earned through hard work and honesty has far greater value than what is grabbed through wrongful means.
The former provides both moral and material satisfaction to the owner.
Stories on Honesty & Truthfulness To Learn Valuable Lessons
3. Why People Called Abraham Lincoln”Honest Abe”
Lincoln earned the nickname “Honest Abe” as a young man working as a store clerk. It is recorded that if he realized he had accidentally shortchanged a customer a few pennies, he thought nothing of closing up the shop and walking several miles to deliver the correct change.
Recognizing Lincoln’s honesty, people were soon asking him to act as judge or referee at various events. He became a popular arbiter of wrestling matches, horse races, and petty squabbles.
Whether as a clerk in a country store, a representative in the state legislature, or a lawyer in court, Lincoln dealt honestly with everyone.
Throughout his entire career in politics and public service, he was extremely proud of his reputation and took great care to justify the Honest Abe sobriquet.
4. Everyone Respect A Reliable And Honest Person
A fisherman repeatedly cast his net in a large pind but all his attempts to catch fish ended in failure. He was surprised to find that as soon as he prepared to cast his net all the fish withdrew from the water round about him.
The next day he again went to the pond and found a monk there. With his ochre-colored robe, he was bathing in the pond. A large number of fishes were playing around him merrily.
He thought that it was the ochre-colored garb that had attracted the fish. So he went into the water by putting on such a robe. He found that the now fishes came near and played around him.
He asked himself that if the mere fact of his personating a Sadhu had such an effect, how great would be the consequences of his becoming a real Sadhu.
This reflection brought about a change in his mind and he gave up on the fisherman‘s life and took to the way of religion. Ultimately he became a saint.
5. Why People Say Honesty Is Life‘s Biggest Virtue
An honest judge named Changshen used to live in Mongolia. He lived in poverty but he was happy as he always pronounced the right judgment without any influence. Once a rich friend of Changshen wanted to get a job done from him.
He met him, presented a bag full of gold coins, and said, “No third person will ever see this, please do this job for me.”
Changshen said, “Don’t say this my friend, Mother Earth sees it, this blue sky sees it and above all the almighty God sees it.”
“You knew about my reputation and yet you came to me to get your work done. Now I will send it to some other court and never do your work”
The friend felt ashamed of himself and went back. Honesty is life’s biggest virtue. It brings true happiness and peace.
