"He who gives an honest answer give a kiss on the lips" Proverbs 24:26
Every kiss is not romantically driven. When my little princess was about 2 years old, I had this way of asking her for a kiss. I'd say, "Gimm'e some smacky-mouth." She was well acquainted with the overly exaggerated smacking sound made when kisses were given and this playfully cute way of asking for a kiss made her giggle. This is the kind of kiss expressed here as this word in Scripture was rarely used in a romantic way; rather it is used to express dearness of relationship between friends or family.
Honesty in answering a question is not only moral, not only pleasing to God, but also shows honor to whom the response is given. When we care more for ourselves than the other person we lie. We may even lie to ourselves by saying we are protecting the feelings of the one we are lying to, but we are truly just attempting to justify the fact that we are providing a false response because we are more concerned with self-preservation. This proverb isn't telling us to be cruel in our honesty, but it is telling us that honesty honors those to whom it is given.
Think about that next time you're tempted to "cushion" a response with falsehood. Ask God to give you grace and strength to lovingly and honestly honor the other person as is pleasing to Him. We will honor Him and the other individual who He has made in His image by providing an honest answer. Honesty truly is the "smacky-mouth" of virtues.
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