Lesson 12: Having a Culture of Honesty

9 Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest and bored a hole in the lid of it and set it beside the altar on the right side as one entered the house of the Lord. And the priests who guarded the threshold put in it all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. 10 And whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, the king's secretary and the high priest came up and they bagged and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord. 11 Then they would give the money that was weighed out into the hands of the workmen who had the oversight of the house of the Lord. And they paid it out to the carpenters and the builders who worked on the house of the Lord, 12 and to the masons and the stonecutters, as well as to buy timber and quarried stone for making repairs on the house of the Lord, and for any outlay for the repairs of the house. 13 But there were not made for the house of the Lord basins of silver, snuffers, bowls, trumpets, or any vessels of gold, or of silver, from the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, 14 for that was given to the workmen who were repairing the house of the Lord with it. 15 And they did not ask for an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to pay out to the workmen, for they dealt honestly. (II Kings 12)
For years the priests had been charged to repair the temple with the resources the people had provided, but they had not done so.  Finally Jehoiada brought things out into the open for all to see: money in, money out.  They hired the most qualified individuals for the job - no nepotism - and the work was done in a timely and quality manner.  What really strikes me is this last verse above: "and they did not ask for an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to pay out to the workmen, for they dealt honestly." That verse speaks volumes.  Things were so transparent, true and honest; leaders were so faithful, virtuous and above reproach, that they could operate in this way.  I am in no way advocating a lack of accountability, but what I am saying is that this should be our goal: to have such a culture of morality and honesty that detailed accounting is not necessary to keep us in line: we live that way because we love God and what things done in such a way as to glorify Him. May we each take steps that way with one another individually and in our responsibilities that we trust each other with good reason.