This English proverb is so simple that people often take this as a joke. In the so-called real world, honesty doesn’t work, we hear. How we feel agitated when someone breaks the line and gets ahead of us. We’ve all seen how people have benefited by engaging in corruption-coercion and benefited. Not necessarily though. What we are witnessing is short term gain. We don’t know their whole life.

Assuming happiness to be the ultimate goal of life, it comes from various sources. Health, wealth, relationships, friendships, mental well being, sense of purpose etc. Most people assume accumulating wealth, or chasing a short term goal will make them happy. That might as well make them wealthy or ahead of the curve, but not happy per say. For happiness you need all the things mentioned above or majority of them to say the least. A person who jumped the line might get things done faster, but how do you know if he is not mentally agitated? Or if he is living a lonely life without his wife and children. The concept is somewhere related to Karma. You don’t see what some-one else’s karma is leading them to do and you surely don’t want their exact karma to befall upon you. Also I am not suggesting here that one has to be the pinnacle of honesty. I am just suggesting that everything is give and take and if you are honest, things end up being good for you in the long term.

Now this above logic is from the happiness angle. But honesty is the best policy even from a success angle. Or I would say long term success. Imagine an office scenario. Two employees are working on a project. Both have contributed equally. As it turns out, one of the employees takes credit for the project in the absence of the other and gets appreciation. The other employee turns up the second day and praises his colleague but also showcases his contribution. Who would earn long term trust of the employer? Success attained without honesty doesn’t last much. The truth by its nature always comes out.

Our society has tricked us into believing that truth does not work, so when we enter our schools, colleges, workstations we are subconsciously trying not to be truthful. Truth is also sometimes embarrassing, which further motivates us to stay course. But nothing could be more wrong.

Truth is in fact the most powerful weapon one can have. With truth on your side, you won’t fear anything. You won’t have to hide anything. Imagine how much freedom that would give you. Being truthful or honest is the fundamental thing one requires, when one needs to do something impactful. Pick up any work of art, you can peer through it and see the artist’s soul. Pick any memorable sporting incident. You can see the grind of that player right there.

In fact we wouldn’t have progressed as a society if there weren’t few honest men. Scientists, freedom-fighters, soldiers, artists, all are made from the same grind. People who are honest love what they do and can sacrifice anything for it.

And here we are arguing whether honesty is the best policy. Give me one one rational argument why it isn’t.