Live Truly and You Will Truly Live.

    You can't make wrong work. Never chase a lie. Left alone, it will run itself to death. Everything you add to the truth, you inevitably subtract from it. It's discouraging to think how people nowadays are more shocked by honesty than by deceit. But truth is essential to society. Thomas Jefferson said, "Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom.”

    "Those that think it is permissible to tell "white lies" soon grow colorblind" (Austin O'Malley). We punish ourselves with every lie and reward ourselves with every right action. A lie adds to your troubles, subtracts from your energy, multiplies your difficulties and divides your effectiveness.

    "Truth is always strong, no matter how weak it looks, and falsehood is always weak no matter how strong it looks" (Marcus Antoninus). Never view anything as an advantage to you that will make you break your word. In the war between falsehood and truth, falsehood wins the first battle, truth the war. "If we live truly, we shall truly live" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).

    "Never forget to be truthful and kind. Hold these virtues tightly. Write them deep within your heart" (Prov. 3:3-4, LB). The truth needs no crutches. If it limps, it's a lie. A lie stands on one leg and a truth on two. Proverbs 11:3 (LB) says: "A good man is guided by his honesty; the evil man is destroyed by his dishonesty." "Truth is such a valuable possession that you have to guard over it carefully and you'll find that life is an uphill battle for the person who's not on the level" (Joan Welsh).

    Liars are never free. The Bible says, "You will know the truth and the truth will make you free" (John 8:32). I'm sure the reverse is true. If you lie, a lie will make you bound. "The darkest hour of any man's life is when he sits down to plan how to get money without earning it" (Horace Greeley). Instead, "refuse the evil, and choose the good" (Is. 7:15). "Dishonest gain will never last, so why take the risk" (Prov. 21:6, LB). The fact is ill gotten gain is always scattered by the devil.

    When you stretch the truth, others can see through it. When you stretch the truth, watch out for the snap-back. Make your word your bond. Broken promises are the world’s greatest accidents. Honesty always lasts longest. A lie never lives to be old.
 
    Truth exists. Only lies are invented. Truth shines in the darkness. "There is never an instant’s truce between virtue and vice. Goodness is the only investment that never fails" (Henry David Thoreau).

    "It makes all the difference in the world whether we put truth in the first place or in the second place" (John Morley). As scarce as the truth is, the supply has always been more than the demand. Wrong is wrong no matter who does it or says it. Truth doesn’t cease to exist because it’s ignored, and it doesn't change because it’s not believed by a majority of people. It’s always the strongest argument.