I am presently reading a Dan Brown book, “The Lost Symbol,” and came across his interesting description of the origins of the word SINCERE. Turns out that one theory is that it evolved from the Spanish phrase,“sin cera,” literally meaning “without wax.” Sculptors who wanted to cover their mistakes or flaws in the sculpting materials they used would fill in those cracks with wax that was mixed with ground up granite to match that material. Such a sculpture was technically “insincere, doctored up to look better than reality. (Perhaps our modern day version of “photoshopped.”) Hebrews 10:22 calls us “draw near to God with a sincere heart.” No wax! Honest, genuine, pure… no pretense! Kinda silly to “wax up” over our true feelings or motives in Your Presence anyway! You know us better than we know ourselves! That waxy pretense melts away in the heat of Your Glory and reveals the real deal! Flaws exposed… but not rejected for them. How freeing is that?! Soooo, wax begone from my arsenal of cover up strategies! First vertically as I experience Your unconditional love for me, flaws and all. Then horizontally as my image management with those around me moves ever more courageously towards “sincerity.”