20-22. (a) What is the main reason why it is important to be honest at all times? (Psalm 15:1-4) (b) What fine example does God set in keeping his word? What can help us to follow His example?

²⁰ The main reason why it pays to be honest and truthful is that Jehovah God counts as his friends only persons who are. Why so? Because he himself is unfailingly true to his word. That is why Joshua could say to the nation of Israel: “You well know with all your hearts and with all your souls that not one word out of all the good words that Jehovah your God has spoken to you has failed. They have all come true for you. Not one word of them has failed.” (Joshua 23:14) The Bible is largely a record of the promises Jehovah has kept. His trueness in the past is what gives us such confidence of future blessings in fulfillment of his promises.

There must be a heartfelt love of truth for the good it does and an equally intense hatred of lying for the harm it does. God’s approval, too, must mean more to you than that of any other person. Remember, it is only because he himself loves the truth and hates lying that we can have a solid hope for the future, based on his unfailing promises and the proved reliability of his Word. So strive to be like him. Keep in mind that “it is the lip of truth that will be firmly established forever, but the tongue of falsehood will be only as long as a moment.”​—Proverbs 12:19.