“Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 19th Century Baptist Preacher

“Faithfulness and sincerity are the highest things.” – Confucius

“There is no greater delight than to be conscious of sincerity on self-examination.” – Mencius

There is little doubt that sincerity is one of the most prized qualities one can possess. We esteem those who are sincere and ridicule those who aren’t. We demand it of those we deal with and believe ourselves to possess it at all times. Yes, sincerity is held in high regard.

But something very terrible has happened to the idea of sincerity. It has become worse than meaningless. It has become poisonous. And to make matters worse, few recognize this fact. How do I know this? Here’s how:

My cat loves to sleep on my chest. She’ll stay there for hours unless I put my hands on her as if I’m holding her down. If I do that, she’ll growl, squirm and eventually leave.

My son will be starting high school next year at his favorite school in our city. I recently asked him where a friend of his would be going to school. He said she lived on the border between two districts and could choose between two different schools. Then he said, “I wish I had a choice.”

Want to get better at something? You need to know the secrets. Want to succeed in business as fast as possible? You need to know the secrets. Want to simply be happier or have more fulfilling relationships? Well, you need to know the secrets. And luckily there are plenty of people who are willing to share them with you – for a price. And even better, these people will even discover more secrets for you once you’ve grown tired of the first ones. And should you tire of the new ones? There are always more where those came from.

Years ago, when I was at a complete loss about what to do with my life, I asked a friend for some advice. He had pulled himself out of some horrible life circumstances and had become quite successful, both in his business and personal life so I was curious what he might suggest. He gave it some thought, then asked if I got sick easily. When I assured him that I didn’t, he replied:

Everyone seems to be looking for profound wisdom. We read books and expect the ideas they contain to transform our lives. We throw money at gurus and await their words that will surely make us enlightened. We consult oracles and canons in hopes of gleaning something that can help us overcome whatever difficulties we face.

And yet, despite our efforts, more often than not, we come up empty handed – but not often enough to prevent us from continuing our quest. We seem to learn just enough to keep us hooked. No matter how elusive our quarry, our desire only grows stronger.

Not long ago I found myself in traffic, stuck behind an old man in a pickup truck. With only one lane open and road construction all around, there was no getting around this guy. And to make things worse, it turned out he was nice. Yes. Nice.

Over the course of about 2 miles, traveling at speeds of up to 5 miles an hour, this man actually stopped at each block to allow every vehicle wanting to merge, to merge. The thankful drivers would smile and wave at this nice old man as they filled up the lane in front of him. I told you he was nice.

Years ago I did some video work for a man I was told was worth about $100 million dollars. I can’t verify that figure, but there was absolutely no doubt this man was filthy stinkin’ rich.

Ranches, banks, airplanes, you name it, he owned them. Sometimes many of them. He was always impeccably dressed, surrounded by the trappings of the super-rich, and always seemed to be having a ball sitting on top of the world. And to top it off, I was told he’d built his empire from scratch.