Sincerity

The fourth Wednesday of every month we have a meeting at work where all the partners and employees eat doughnuts or pies made by the owner's wife and discuss a topic as chosen by Character First, an Oklahoma-based organization which publishes literature on various character qualities. They have so far found sixty character traits that are commendable; tomorrow's topic is Sincerity. I am the chosen speaker.

In researching the etymology of the word (one of my favorite ways of finding out what a word means), I found that the word in Latin is translated "without wax." The popular origin of the word is that Roman potters began selling faulty pottery with the blemishes carefully hidden by wax and paint; when heated, the wax melted and the contents would leak out. Potters of higher talent began marketing their pottery as sine cere or "without wax." Wikipedia tells me that this story is false, but rather sincere is derived from the Latin sincerus meaning clean, pure, sound; Amy's Oxford Dictionary agrees. Either way, the meaning is essentially the same: to be without disguise; to be in reality as in appearance. An antonym of sincerity is hypocrisy, which has Greek origins of "play-acting" and more specifically in reference to a successful actor (which was not an admirable occupation) named Aeschines who became a politician. Ha. Aristotle said that sincerity is the ground between self-depreciation and boastfulness.

Can someone be sincere? True sincerity insinuates that someone is without fault, but rather shows 100% excellence in every aspect. In a world where human nature is inherently good, sincerity is within reach. However, in the Christian world of an evil human nature, true sincerity is a mere construct (ideal). This leads me to believe that someone bearing the label of "a sincere person" (as we use it) is an approximation, a near-bull's eye. Whether that label is self-inflicted or uttered in observation by another determines whether said label is hypocritical or a compliment of epic proportions. Either way, it is a burden.

In every way, sincerity is a virtue necessary for permanent success. Any small amount of play-acting (hypocrisy) negates whatever amount of sincerity we possess, just as Amy's injera fermented with just a morsel of yeast. In the context of a rich man entering heaven through the eye of a needle, it may be easier to purge dough of yeast after it has risen than it is to purge one's reputation of hypocrisy.

Horton said it best: "I said what I meant, and I meant what I said." Regardless of potential harm to himself, he hatched the egg and later got that speck with the colony of Whos safely up to Mount Nool. Sincerity in the purest definition may or may not be within reach, but without question the ideal behind the word is: to do what is right, irregardless of what is best for self.