By: Obed Pineda
There are old folkloric tales that suggest that the etymological roots of our English word “sincere” can be traced as far back as to the days of the Roman Republic, before Julius Caesar ushered in Rome’s Imperial period. One tale claims that in those days marble craftsmen would use wax to hide the flaws made to the stone by them during the fabrication process. Thus, when it was time for the client to pick up their order they would ask, “sine cera?” which is Latin for “without wax?” Essentially the question posed to the stone worker was if the crafted marble being purchased was unmixed, uninjured, and genuine as is. Another narrative very similar to the previous one is that when an aristocrat would have his bust sculpted from marble and had certain physical traits he was unhappy with, he would instruct the sculptor to use wax to hide them or to amplify his better qualities to drown out the blemishes. On the other hand, if the noble was very pleased with how the sculpture turned out originally, the artist would inquire if his client would like any wax added to the chiseled piece to which the reply would be “sine cera.” For an artist to hear this response was the greatest compliment he could receive since it was a proclamation that it was perfect as it was and required no alteration that would take away from its pure beauty. A final legendary folklore from whence the word sincere may have originated is a little more dark. It is said that unscrupulous bricklayers would often times use wax in place of actual cement when building structures, in order to make a bigger monetary profit since cement was more expensive. Naturally the wax would eventually melt and this would cause the edifice to collapse, endangering the well being of anyone who could be inside. Ergo, the honest builder would state to his client that the building was made “sine cera” as a guarantee that it was safe and would not cave in. Although these stories have been disputed and labeled as fiction in regards to the origin of sincere it is curious to notice the qualities that are highlighted by them of the importance of being sincere and genuine. It is also interesting to realize that wax is used in all three folk tales as the figure of dishonesty, deception, and dishonor. Dishonesty by the stone craftsman’s intent to hide the injuries he made to the marble as he fabricated it, deception by the nobleman’s desires to want to portray an untrue and inaccurate sculpture of himself, and the dishonorable, deplorable action of the greedy bricklayer using cheaper material that could potentially hurt innocent people. Meditating on these tell-tale stories linked to the word “sincere,” brings to the mind’s eye Solomon’s assessment of one great value a true friend offers: “Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:5-6). It cannot be questioned that the wise, inspired king is speaking about the genuine concern demonstrated by a friend when he or she is willing to resist and oppose an unwise decision that can end badly. It is incorrect to believe that Solomon’s words about “the wounds of a friend” is referring to malicious intent to purposely injure a person, since they are premised in the beginning of the pericope by the king as being “faithful.” In another proverb, the Holy Spirit establishes that “blows that hurt cleanse away evil, as do stripes the inner depths of the heart” (Proverbs 20:30). Both Scriptures are portraying not only the value of godly reproof done in sincerity, but they also illumine the power of pure intentions. Observe the antithesis illustrated by the inspired amanuensis of a person who conceals the true motives for their actions: “the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” The enemy spoken of in this passage by Solomon is said to first carefully conceal their love. Thus, this begs the following question: If a person chooses to remain quiet before an inadvisable situation they are aware could end badly, was their silence because they truly did not want to hurt the person in the wrong, or was it to protect himself from a difficult confrontation? Furthermore, who was he really sparing by remaining mute about the unfruitful work? It is true that it is never easy to have to challenge a person’s decision when it leads down a perilous route, but staying silent out of fear of potentially loosing a friend is like erecting an edifice by using wax instead of cement. In other words, it is dishonest, deceptive, and dishonorable because the focus is on avoiding an awkward conversation, and not preventing someone from getting injured. Remember that the Bible verifies “rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning” (Proverbs 9:8b-9). Behold why open rebuke produces faithful wounds that cleanses away evil, when spoken by the lips of a true friend! This, too, reveals that it takes true boldness to be sincere with all men. The apostle Paul queried on a certain occasion, “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth” (Galatians 4:16)? The Master disclosed to the Jews that believed in Him “you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you” (John 8:37b). In both of these examples, the intentions of the one speaking are a sincere effort to correct a sinner away from the sin that was enslaving him (cf. John 8:34-36, Galatians 4:17-20). Yet, the reaction to the correction was one of disdain and estrangement. The Lord and Paul were aware of the risks bound to them voicing their genuine concerns, but also did not ignore the greater peril of staying silent before an oncoming threat (cf. Ezekiel 33:1-9). It is unequivocal that it is best to endure a bit of discomfort if it will keep a soul away from eternal damnation, than to use proverbial wax of false consideration that may only expedite that person’s demise. The truth of this lamentable probability can be proven with the curious case of the mighty, yet leprous Syrian general, Naaman (cf. 2nd Kings 5). After he was offended and infuriated because the man of God did not tend to his leprosy personally, but instead instructed him to go and wash in the river Jordan seven times, Naaman was alarmingly close to living the rest of his life in that dreadful state. What stopped Naaman from losing a golden opportunity at being fully healed from his leprosy? The judicious and sincere voice of one of his servants who valiantly called out Naaman’s arrogance and succeeded in guiding him back to reason (cf. 2nd Kings 5:9-14). It is righteous to comprehend that silence is not always the best policy, especially if the snare lying ahead is clearly visible to our eyes. Attempts at trying to justify our quietness when the right action was to speak out, are no different than the aristocrat wanting to use wax to hide his flaws. The possibility of assisting a spiritual leper obtain a complete healing of their leprosy should undoubtedly be a great motivator for any of us to find the courage to lovingly and humbly speak our concerns in the form of wise counsel, without wax.