Sincerity and Responsibility

Sincerity vs. Hypocrisy

Sincerity is being as genuine on the inside as we appear to be on the outside.

Scripture Memory

•“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.” —I Peter 5:8-10

Name of God

•Go’el- God is our Redeemer

–“For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.” -Isaiah 54:5

            Sincerity is one of the most important concepts to me in my Christian life.  So many dilemmas with people and problems are avoided by the simple trait of sincerity.  But while it may be simple, that does not always mean it is easy to come by.  It can be easy to begin going through the motions of going to church and living for God and putting on a front of Christianity because of our perceived responsibilities of discipling people and maintaining our own reputation for the glory of God.  Oftentimes we develop a perspective that we must be on God’s PR committee, because we want to accurately represent Christianity.  The key, though, is to represent it accurately.  The biggest reasons I have heard from people leaving church or walking away from God, interestingly enough, does not usually have to do with logic or beliefs or hatred towards God or His Word; rather, the reasons people give many times have to do with people.  Critics of the church often cite hypocrisy as the main flaw of the church, and they are not necessarily wrong.  Hypocrisy is present.  God has redeemed us, but we do not always live that way.  Sometimes our emotions get in the way, and the logical part of living for God does not seem to make sense.  However, when this happens, people seem to get very caught up in the façade of presenting a pretty, pious picture of perfection.  My pastor cites a turning point in his life as a time when he was consistently praying, “God, I just want to be real,” and I have since adopted that as my constant prayer, and even as my spiritual heartbeat.  I want to be real.  I want God’s redemption to be an actual reality in my life, not just an act I am putting on.  If people come to God because of me, I want it to be because they see that He is real and really working in my life, not that I appear to have it all together on the outside.  We tend to get caught up in the responsibility of presenting a perfect image.  In reality, though, the most important responsibility in our entire Christian life is to be sincere and love without dissimulation, living a life sincerely, and honestly, and without hypocrisy before God.  Transparency is a key concept that goes right along with sincerity.  We know that we are not perfect, and make mistakes, and rather than attempting to justify the things that we do wrong, minimizing them, or covering them up as if they never happened, it is important to be real with people and admit that we are flawed.  People already realize that humans aren't perfect, and a sincere person doing their best to please God, but owning up to the things they do wrong is relatable.  When we present an flawless image, people instinctively realize it isn't real and immediately begin looking for the flaws.  Let's glorify God by living a redeemed life that reflects His glory, being real about who we are and where we're at.  Acknowledging that things aren't perfect in our lives is part of sincerity.  God loves a broken and contrite spirit.  With that mentality, we realize that our responsibility is to just live sincerely in a way that seeks after Him.  Living a life for Him, with an attitude that sincerely wants Him, loves Him, and desires to obey Him, and is not just spouting words.