- Linus
Linus responds to Charlie Brown's challenge to his believe in the Great Pumpkin by espousing the virtue of sincerity. And as we all know, there was no more sincere believer in the Great Pumpkin than Linus.
But did that make it true? Sadly, no. Truth trumps sincerity nearly every time. Wish and hope and even desire do not make truth. This truth seekers must constantly fight even there own wishes, hopes and desires to find integrity.
But that's not what this post is about. This post turns Linus' oft quoted, sometimes maligned missive on its head.
"It MATTERS what you believe just as long as you're sincere"
You see, if you AREN'T sincere, who cares what you believe? It really WON'T matter.
Sincerity often gets a bad rap among those who proclaim faith. And I get it. Truth matters. But is that to say sincerity does not? I'd postulate that sincerity must come first or you aren't going to find truth. Truth can be so elusive that ONLY the sincere may find it. One of the old prophets, an old soul named Jeremiah, once quoted the Creator as saying "You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart" (Jer. 17:9).
I've often told my children when they seemed to be having some "sincerity" challenges with the truth that one reason it was so important to always tell the truth is because one cannot find the truth unless one tells the truth. Why would God reveal Himself or His will or His desire to someone that won't be honest?
So Truth matters. But don't expect to find it without an honest heart.
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