Tuesday, April 03, 2007

"sine cera"

I learned something cool in Bible study today. In Romans 12:9, the word "sincere" comes from the Latin "sine cera," meaning "without wax." We say "waxy spiritual" when we're pretending to be more spiritual than we are. Also, wax can serve as a polish, to give the appearance that something (like a car) is shinier...Interesting. Historically, "sine cera" refers to the ancient practice of using wax to hide cracks in inferior pottery to pass them off as otherwise for a higher price. Quality pottery was stamped with "sine cera" to show it had not been altered. Aren't we referred to as pottery in the Bible? Perhaps we can be sincere and not hide our true nature with hypocritical words or actions. May I be genuine. May we all be.