n the words of Thomas Jefferson, a great thinker of his time, “Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom.” In a society certain behavior is acceptable and some is deplorable. The behavior which is acceptable and admired by the society is considered to be social value. The honesty, sincerity, compassion, friendliness etc. are to be considered as social values. Out of all these social values honesty is considered as most important. Honesty has always been considered as the best policy. The society has always believed in honesty and has recognized it as the most important social value. Today it appears that we have forgotten this first chapter of book wisdom known as honesty. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, a great Indian social reformer, “To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.” It is therefore clear that sincerity, truthfulness, genuineness, integrity etc. which are beliefs of society, if followed by someone, he is honest.

The honesty as stated above is a combination of sincerity, truthfulness, genuineness, integrity, fairness and similar other values. It therefore is the most important social value. The honesty has always been considered as best policy. The reason why honesty is best policy is discussed in underline paragraphs.

The Seed

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to chose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different.

He called all the young executives in his company together.

"It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO," he said. "I have
decided to choose one of you."

The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to
give each one of you a seed today - a very special seed. I want you to
plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what
you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants
that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a
seed.

He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a
pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed.

Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about
three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds
and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but
nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others
were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt
like a failure.

Six months went by - still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed
his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim
didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and
fertilizing the soil - he so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought
their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't
going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what
happened.

Jim felt sick at his stomach. It was going to be the most embarrassing
moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right.

The honesty in thoughts is the first thing. Honest thoughts are of great value for society. If we are honest in thoughts we contribute a lot to society. The honest thoughts can help in formulating a better society. The honesty in thought can give better ideas in formulating a happy society free from malice and disputes. We can ourselves see that how every day the crime rate is increasing in the society. This all is because of dishonest thoughts. Our thoughts today are not honest. This has deformed the society to the extent that crime is visible everywhere. Thus we ourselves can conclude that honesty in thoughts is of great value for the society.

The honesty in action is the second thing which is equally important for society. Honesty in actions has a great value for the society. The honest actions pay a great dividend in the long run. We can formulate better rules and plans for the society but without honest action all these plans and rules are futile. We can ourselves visualize, today numerous rules and directives are framed by different societies. In the absence of honest actions these rules and directives remain unimplemented. This has given us a deformed society. If we want a flawless society we have to have honesty in our actions. Thus we can visualize that honest actions are of great value for the society.

The honesty in relations is the third thing which is important for society. If relations are not honest the society becomes corrupt. In a society we are supposed to maintain certain framed relations with each other. For example the relation between husband and wife, brothers and sisters, friends, relatives etc. have been framed by society. We are supposed to maintain honest relations as defined by society. Today we fail to maintain these honest relations. This has caused deformity in society. The relations are on the verge of breaking. Thus we can ourselves conclude that honest relations have got a great social value.

In addition to above, honesty in business, in service or in any field always pays in long run. We can build a nation and its character with honest actions only. In a nutshell, honesty is the best policy. 

He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at
the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful in
all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his
colleagues laughed. A few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young
executives.

Jim just tried to hide in the back.

"My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO.

"Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty
pot. He ordered the financial director to bring him to the front.

Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will
have me fired!"

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed.
Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then
announced to the young executives, "Here is your next Chief Executive! His
name is Jim!"

Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be
the new CEO the others said?

Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a
seed.

I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me
today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not
possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.

"When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed
for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty
to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be
the new Chief Executive!"

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.
If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective.
If you plant hard work, you will reap success.
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.