I sat in front of my iPad, giggling at my older brother’s smirky comments and funny faces while we waited for the next weird question from the quizmaster, aka my mom. She interrupted our comedy session with the following question, “Which Ocean is bigger, the Pacific or the Atlantic?” Quickly and confidently, I wrote “The Atlantic.” I sincerely believed that this was the correct answer. However, my family’s hysteric laughter was all that was needed to show me that I was wrong. To slag me some more, my mother sent me a picture of the world map, clearly showing that the Pacific was way bigger. I could have saved myself a lot of embarrassment. Lol! 

We all make silly mistakes like this. It’s cute, hilarious, and most important very memorable. My family to this day still slag me off about this. But I forgive them because my life wasn’t in jeopardy over being sincerely wrong. There are times, however, when being sincere, but sincerely wrong, can be serious. Even life-threatening.

Most people agree that sincerity is really important. It is important to God as well. But, when people claim that being sincere is all that matters to God, and not the truth, that is when things get messy.

You may be very sincere in what you say, but it does not mean you are right. You can sincerely believe in something, but it may not be grounded in truth. As Jonathan Morrow put it: “Wasting a few minutes because Google Maps lead you down yet another dead end is one thing, wasting your life because you have sincerely believed a lie is another.”

This quote made me think of the life of Saul of Tarsus (also known as the Apostle Paul) before he became a Christian. He was a highly educated man, a Pharisee, who followed the Law with all his heart. His beliefs lead him down a very dark road. He sincerely believed he was doing God’s work by putting believers in prison and taking delight in their deaths (Acts 8-9). It wasn’t until Jesus confronted Paul in Acts 9 (more detail of this in Acts 22) did he realize that his sincere beliefs had driven him to persecute God Himself. This must have shocked Paul as he dedicated his entire life to God. As a result, Paul converted to Christianity, was baptized, spent a total of 11 years restudying the Scriptures, at that time the Old Testament, and was affirmed as an apostle by James (the half-brother of Jesus) and Peter. Then he walked into his calling (his three-missionary journeys) and wrote most of the New Testament.

Not everyone has a turning point like Paul. Some may even go in the opposite direction. Regardless, being only sincere in what you believe is only half of the battle. Sincerity is important to God, but the truth is equally important to Him: “…it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4). 

What’s been your experience? Have you come across a situation where you or someone you know favored sincerity over truth? I would love to know, so feel free to leave a comment below! 😊

If you enjoyed this post, I would be grateful if you’d help spread it by emailing it to a friend or sharing it on Twitter or Facebook. Thank you!

Truth matters because ideas have consequences for people. What you think is true is the map you will use to try to navigate reality－ spiritually, morally, relationally, and intellectually

Jonathan Murrow