The Importance of Being Sincere!
By Louise R. Hunnisett
Picking out a good-quality clay pot wasn’t an easy task for a housewife in ancient times. Dishonest tradesmen would disguise their inferior pots by covering the cracks and blemishes with wax before selling them.
On the outside, a pot would look perfect, and the housewife often wouldn’t find out just how flawed it was until she tried using it. As soon as she poured in hot water, the wax would melt and the pot would begin leaking.
Honest tradesmen began labeling their good-quality pottery with the words “sin cere”, literally meaning “without wax.” Any housewife who bought a pot sin cere knew that the clay would be solid the whole way through.
Sin cere – without wax – is the root of our English words sincere and sincerity. We no longer connect this word to wax, but the reasons behind the root of the word can shed a lot of light onto its true meaning.
Sincerity vs. insincerity
The highest compliment you can pay a person is sincerity, which simply means telling the truth. This doesn’t mean being rude. We can still give our honest opinions tactfully. Although the truth may be harder for others to accept, it will be of far greater benefit in the long run.
Sincerity and character
Sincerity produces growth both in ourselves and in others. It is the foundation of strong interpersonal relationships. If we wax over our faults to appear to be what we think others would like to see, we will only promote further mistrust when the wax eventually melts and our insincerity is shown. On the other hand, if we are sincere ourselves, we will encourage honesty and sincerity in others.
Sincerity involves being the same in actual character as in outward appearance. It means being solid the whole way through, just as genuine clay pots were solid through to the inside.
Insincerity to others is unfair. Insincerity to self is even more dangerous. If we wax over our faults to hide them from others, we could become blind to them ourselves.
We can compare our character to one of those ancient clay pots. How much of it is hidden from view by wax? And what kind of character is it?
There is little point in waxing ourselves for the benefit of others. If we are sincere, we will reveal ourselves for what we really are. That can be hard at times. It’s certainly humbling when another person sees our weaknesses, but we cannot work to improve these weaknesses unless they are visible.
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And a bonus quote from Neal A. Maxwell:
“We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.”
Thanks for the share, WK!
