SINCERITY - MUCH APPRECIATED

 SINCERITY

We may not say it often but we all relate to and appreciate someone when we recognize sincerity in them.

A sincere person is one who is honest, who doesn’t create false impressions, and who doesn’t operate with selfish motives. What you see is what you get. They do the right thing for the right reasons. They don’t have a hidden agenda.

My words come from an upright heart; my lips sincerely speak what I know. Job 33:3

The meaning of the word sincere comes from the ancient practice of pottery making. Rocks needed to be sifted out of clay or pots made from that clay would have defects. Deceitful potters who were too lazy to do the sifting would fill the small holes created by the stones with wax. Later, when the buyer heated the pot, the wax would melt, and the pot would leak.

Good potters, whose clay was sifted, would write on their pots “sine cera” –without wax.

This asks the question of us today, are we as genuine on the inside as we try to portray on the outside?

The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

1 Timothy 1:5

God wants us to know who we are, in relationship with

Him, and then live that out with truth and grace in all our human relationships.

God, we know that we need to say what we mean and mean what we say without lies or exaggerations or

evasiveness.

Please work in us today so that any character defects that would keep us from being sincere are brought to light and removed.

When we have done something wrong, help us to take responsibility and apologize with sincere regret and a willingness to make things right.

Help us today to be honest about what we think or feel –expressing ourselves with respect and politeness for sure -- but not thinking one thing and intentionally saying something else.

Help us in every area of life to be sincere and to “walk the walk not just talk the talk.”  Amen