Sincerity; I don’t try to trick people.
1 Timothy 1:5, “Our goal is love that comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
As Christian parents, we have a great challenge and a great privilege in teaching our children to be sincere. The privilege, of course, is to raise up people who mean what they say and practice what they preach. The challenge, however, is how to teach the importance of sincerity when people constantly doubt whether or not someone is being sincere. Sadly, many of us are concerned by if people are being genuinely sincere with us. What if they are deceiving us? What if they are planning to use our answers to hurt us or scam us? These are all threats that are too real, but should not deter us from being sincere.
Whenever I think of sincerity, I always think of Jacob. As we read through his story in Genesis, we begin the story by not liking the Jacob, but as he grows and matures through his life and experiences, we see him become a better person. He transitions from being a trickster into being a sincere man of God.
It baffles me how in reading a few chapters of a man’s life can so easily change my thoughts about him. The same is true in real life as well, even though it takes longer to see the changes. You may can think of someone you interact with whom you do not trust, and you do not believe them to be sincere. Be careful with what you trust them with, but always stay gracious and open to the work God is doing in them. They may not be sincere today, but God can lead them there. Pray for them. Let your sincerity and character serve as an example for them. Lord willing, sooner rather than later, they too will become a sincere, loving child of God.
Application: Even as you are reading this, your young child is forming their opinions on sincerity. At such a young age, our Heritage blessings are absorbing information like tiny human sponges, and they are determining how they will view the world and people. This is why it is so crucial for us to do what we say we are going to do. Us, as parents, have the power and responsibility to set an example of sincerity for our children. I pray we would take this seriously, and that we do well at being sincere.
