2 Corinthians 1:12 - Sincere Teleprompting

It used to be a comedy spoof for someone to be reading cue cards for a speech or commercial. Their speech was very stilted and wooden as they said words or phrases in a disjointed effort to convey a message. They weren't speaking from the heart; they were just reading the cards.

We've become much more sophisticated, of course, with teleprompters: clear screens that allow the speaker to look directly at a camera even while they are reading a prewritten script. It allows the person speaking to seem as if they are looking viewers right in the eye and sharing from their heart. It has all the appearances of sincerity. But if you look carefully at their pupils, they are reading a script--even while looking directly at the camera.

However, sincerity isn't based on whether you look someone directly in the eye or not.

Paul wrote,
"We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom." (2 Corinthians 1:12, New Living Translation, 2015)

Sincerity isn't based on eye-contact as much as speaking with a clear conscience that can only come from God.

Even if one never uses a teleprompter, there are other "prompts" one might use. The Lord's Prayer. The Apostles' Creed. Merely droning something out of habit may be insincere. But using a prompt can also be a vehicle for sincere prayers and confession of faith.

God, give us the grace and clear conscience we need to be sincere in what we say--both to you and to others. Amen