In this world, which seems to be spiralling out of control, candour, which is defined as the quality of being open, honest, and sincere is a great virtue worth embracing and practicing. It is a way of showing our sense of purpose in life. We all should realize that life is a journey. In this journey, we are all travelling inevitably towards the end of our lives. We will either pass through life with no sense of direction or we will live lives of purpose and fulfilment. We need candour while coursing through this God-given life.
Candour is the quality of being open and honest with others and with ourselves. It is the admirable trait of frankness. We should endeavour to be men and women of refreshing candour. Indeed, candour is primarily a virtue of the heart. It is a charity of thought and a generosity of desire and goodwill. The Christian moral life is one that seeks to cultivate and practice virtues including this vital one and in doing so, we should realize that God cherishes candour.
We need to bear in mind that He wants to hear what is on your heart today in an honest way. Psalm 12:1-8 says: “Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race. Everyone lies to their neighbour; they flatter with their lips but harbour deception in their hearts. May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue, those who say, “By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us, who is lord over us?” “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise” says the Lord. “I will protect them from those who malign them”. And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. You, Lord, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked, who freely strut about when what is vile is honoured by the human race“.
Indeed, we live in a world in which fraud and dishonest flattery are prevalent sins. Verses 1-2 of the above Psalm point to the disappearance of the godly person and his unfortunate replacement with wicked and wreckless personalities. Verses 3-5 are about a plea for God to judge those who speak and act wickedly. In the Psalm, David mourns what he sees as an entirely corrupt, evil culture around him. The people around him seem entirely filled with lies and flattery. He, therefore, prays for the Lord to silence the false talkers, who flatter and boast. These evil ones are assured of their sins, thinking there will be no consequences. In a self-deceptive way, those who revel in abusive, lying, foul, or deceptive speech believe their tongues are key in their quest for control of others. However, the apostle James differs with that notion. He writes: “No human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8). We should know that it is only God’s power that can tame the tongue, but it is never at rest and is unstable. No man can tame the tongue without divine grace and assistance.
We need to know that poison of the tongue is something we must carefully label and handle with care. It can ruin reputations. That is why we must submit our mouths to the Lordship of Jesus Christ to live blameless and positively influential lives. There are things we need to attend to in life with candour and walk away from whatever does not support our sense of higher purpose in life.
