Honesty on the Mat and at the Dinner Table
Ding… Ding… Ding! The timer goes off, signaling the start of our final class drill: sparring with the Wavemaster for 30 seconds! Mr. Manny is watching and cheering us on to push hard, not to quit, and to finish strong. I have two options: I can either pace myself and push to the finish, or I can watch Mr. Manny and try hard only when he is looking at me. Which of these scenarios sounds like the honest option? In which of these am I glorifying God or honoring my parents? If you picked option 1, you’d be correct.
Being honest can sometimes appear to be hard. In our scenario, it seemed hard because I’d already been working out for almost an hour, and Mr. Manny wanted me to do more hard work! Wouldn't being sneaky and avoiding the work for only 30 seconds be okay? No, it wouldn’t. That temptation shouldn’t even exist in our minds, but unfortunately, it does, and it's not so easy to be sneaky with a room full of people watching you. Maybe I was sneaky and Mr. Manny didn’t see me slacking off, but my parents did, my classmate on the Wavemaster next to me noticed, and so did his parents. Everybody in the room saw my lie in action, and now they know I’m dishonest on the mat. If I’m dishonest on the mat, I’m also dishonest at the dinner table.
If I lie about something small like a 30-second workout, what am I going to do when I have a real problem? I can work out my dishonesty muscles just like my punching muscles or my stance muscles. Just as everyone can see me working out my arms and legs, they can all see my dishonesty muscle flexing and getting stronger the more I lie and hide things. When my martial arts class ends, my physical workout ends, but my dishonesty muscle can work out right up until I fall asleep if I go home and make a habit of lying to my parents.
It doesn’t have to be that way, though. I can work my honesty muscle and build that trust from Mr. Manny, my classmates, and my parents. The Lord tells us to love God and love others. Is lying showing love? There isn’t any gray area here; it either is or isn’t. So even though it is hard to finish the last 30 seconds of the workout, or you know you’ve disobeyed your parents in some way, don’t hide behind dishonesty. Use this opportunity to work your honesty muscle and accept the consequences, knowing that you have shown your friends and family that you love them enough to be honest.
Ethan Brookey
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Purple Belt
Chief Instructor - BJJ