Sincerity

What is sincerity? What does it really mean to be sincere? The dictionary defines it as "the quality of being free from pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy." In other words, sincerity is essentially unbiasedness (if that's even a word). In the third part of the excerpt, Confucius talks greatly of sincerity. However, I believe his definition of sincerity is more than the simple dictionary definition. It is more than just a synonym for genuineness. It carries connotations of righteousness, wisdom and heaven.

In the first part of the text, Confucius mentions a sort of axis or center. "Happiness, rage, grief, delight. To be unmoved by these emotions is to stand in the axis, in the center; being moved by these passions each in due degree constitutes being in harmony" (Page 101). What I think he is saying is that we need to be in tune with our emotions, positive and negative, so that we can be in harmony with the world. He says that the axis is the harmony that heaven and earth are built around. The axis is very hard to work toward. "The master man finds the center and does not waver; the mean man runs counter to the circulation about the invariable."

Confucius doesn't seem to talk much about what this "master man" is until later, when he says "the sincere man finds the axis without forcing himself to do so" (Page 167-169). In this way, sincerity is like righteousness or perfectness. In my mind, it seems like Confucius is describing a Christian without knowing it. When a person has the Holy Spirit, they will find it much easier to love. As Confucius teaches about the sincere man, I believe that the sincere man is someone who loves others as themselves. And when you love God above everything else, it is even easier to love others. That's what a sincere man is. People will notice that person and like that person and trust that person. It's hard not to like someone who loves other people as much as themselves. Through their love, they will be a light to the rest of the world.

In addition to love, sincerity is about trust. A person who knows their identity in the Lord will be much easier to trust. They won't go back on their word, especially since they have love. When you love someone, and they trust you, you won't want to hurt their feelings by going against what you said. You will want to be truthful. When you have the love and the truth of God, people will tend to trust you. You can be a light through trust.

While their teachings don't fit perfectly with Christianity, I think it is kind of cool that so many ancient philosophers such as Aristotle, Plato, and Confucius write about some very Christian ideas. To me, this is even further proof that God exists. Christianity technically didn't even exist at that point in time, so there is no way they could've gotten so many Christian ideas without the Lord guiding their thoughts. It is amazing how God can work through people.