I Corinthians 13:6  “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”

INTRODUCTION: A guy was driving around the back woods of Montana when he saw a sign in front of a broken down shanty-style house. The sign read, “Talking Dog For Sale.” He rang the bell and the owner appeared and told him the dog was in the back yard.  The guy went into the back yard and saw a nice looking Labrador retriever sitting there.  He asked, “Do you talk?” The lab replied “Yep.”  After the guy recovered from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he said, “So, what’s your story?” 
The Lab looked up and said, Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA. In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping. I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running. But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered me incredible dealings and was awarded a batch of medals.  I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired.” 

The guy was amazed. He went back in the house and asked the owner what he wanted for the dog. The guy said “Ten dollars.”  “Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?”  The owner replied, “Because he's a liar. He never did any of that stuff.”

They say that dogs are a man’s best friend, but only if he’s honest and true.  Better to have a barking dog that’s honest than a talking dog that lies.  Today I want to talk about honesty.  We’re in a sermon series on love and we’re taking our cues from Paul’s inspired description of love in I Corinthians 13.  We’ve already had messages on love as expressed in forgiveness, patience, kindness, courtesy, humility and generosity.  But today let’s zero in on love as it is expressed through honesty.  We know the effect that honesty, or the lack thereof, can have on our relationships.  Whether two people need to be honest about small preferences, hurt feelings, or something significant, if honesty is missing from a relationship, they will not grow in authentic love.  In order to make HONEST love a way of life we need to do three things.