Insincerity Veiled as Sincerity

So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.”  - Matthew 7:12

Yesterday I received an email from a major Hotel and Resort company.  The greeting line of the email said, “Dear Valued Guest.”  And do you know what the email said?  Yeah, me neither, because I didn’t read it.  Their greeting line was an insincere effort to make me feel of value and special.  If I really mattered to them, then maybe they could at least come up with some software that would merge my name with the bulk email; then at least I could have read “Dear Darrell.”

The email was not a total loss however.  It did get me to wondering how many things we do that are insincere but garbed in a veil of sincerity.  We need to be careful of such things in our churches, our business, and our interactions with others.  When we ask how someone is doing, we need to make sure that we actually care.  When we say we are glad to see someone, we need to mean it.  When we say let me know if I can do anything for you, then we need to be committed to doing whatever we possible can.

Ultimately, I think the solution is in simply slowing down.  Make time for others.  Walk a little more slowly.  Make yourself available.  Listen.  Learn to genuinely care about what is going on around you.  In short, “whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.”