Personal Reflection
on
Insincere vs Sincere
Julia Murphy's
great
follow-up reflection
Personal Reflection on
insincere
vs sincere (sent 08/19/02)
Fiends/Friends:
I have often been quite open to all I have met; however, at
times
in the
past I have been quite a smart-mouth and up-tight about many
things.
As part
of the "butterfly transformation", I believe I am a better brother to
all
thee
today (by far) than ever before. With this, I wanted to share the
daily
reflection for today within a medition book I'm using. It seemed
appropriate
not only for me, but much of you .. my family.
This is not to say that we should not take
loved
ones feeling into regard.
We just shouldn't handcuff ourselves from others due to self-pride or
fear.
"'The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere.' - Anne Morrow
Lindbergh
Many of us grew up in situations that required us to be constantly on
guard.
We became so keenly attuned to the people around us and how to please
them
or
avoid their anger that we lost contact with our inner messages.
Rather
than
developing for drawing upon our inner resources, we developed skills
for
looking outward
and reacting to whatever confronted us. This method of survival
may
have been
necessary in the past while we were under stress, but it doesn't allow
us
any
rest of the possibility of simply following what we know and feel is
right.
We are learning to know what we think and feel and to express it, even
it
if
isn't always what others want to hear. We can be spontaneous now
because
we
have room for mistake in our lives. Our relationships are more
reliable,
and
we have more energy from sincerity than from always striving to make a
good
appearance.
Prayer/Reflection: Today, it is more important for me to be sincere
than
to be
on my guard."*
* From Touchstones, A Book of Daily
Meditation
for Men, Published 1986 by Hazelden Foundation, ISBN:
0-89486-394-0.
Julia Murphy's
reflection
on this topic (received Mon, 26 Aug 2002)
I was just thinning out my inbox and reread this email of yours
regarding
sincerity and insincerity, and some ponderables came to mind...
If one believes in something, especially if it is believed that God
himself
has whispered a plan, then shouldn't that person move forward in faith,
risking all, even what others would say or think of them? What opinion
should
we be concerned with, other people's opinion or God's? And wouldn't it
take
a
greater measure of faith if opposition arose, especially if that
opposition
was from someone close to them? What will we choose, faith or fear
(fear
of
loss, fear of rejections, fear of other's feelings, etc.)? The only
fear
we
should have is Fear of the Lord, which is one of deep love, respect and
awe.
2 Paralipomenon 19:7
Let the fear of the Lord be with you, and do all
things
with diligence: for there is no iniquity with the
Lord
our God, nor respect of
persons, nor desire of gifts.1
Proverbs 24:23
These things also to the wise: It is not good to
have
respect
to persons in judgment.
Proverbs 28:21
He that hath respect to a person in judgment, doth not
well:
such a man even for a morsel of bread forsaketh
the
truth.
Romans 2:11
For there is no respect of persons with God.
The TRUTH should be the basis for all our decision making; and God's
opinion
and plan comes before all else, which is accompanied by all the grace
needed
to achieve it. (We just have to trust in Him.) Jesus always chose the
Will
of
the Father, which was often unpopular with the people. Remember,
sometimes
in
our faith journey we are called to be the sandpaper, abrasive and
irritating
but used to smooth out rough edges.
Matthew 6:1-2
Take heed that you do not your justice before
men,
to be seen
by them:
otherwise
you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven.
(6:2) Therefore when thou dost an alms-deed, sound not a
trumpet
before
thee,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that
they may
be
honoured by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.
This scripture passage outlines a choice: we can either choose the
reward
of
what others think of us (esteem of persons), or we can receive our
reward
from
God.
I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say that I'd prefer to walk in
sincerety
and receive my reward from God's hands, even if it means that I would
become
misunderstood by many.
Peace and Joy,
Julia
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