The Hazel Green herald. [volume] (Hazel Green, Wolfe County, Ky.) 1885-19??, 1888-02-10
SINCERITY AND FRANKNESS.

Exoellont Virtues In Their Proper Time
aud Place-Ths Duty of Feeling Right,
and the Duty of Seeming to Feel Right.
Sincerity and frankncss arc very
well in their way, and in their
time and place; but their pro-
pricty depends very much on the
spirit which is back Of them. II II
man is controlled wholly by the spirit
of Christian love. and by simple de-
sire TO promote the cause OF truth and
the welfare Of his fellows he can
safely be sincere and frank in the ex-
preston OF his opinions and feelings
in his intercourse with those who are
about him. But il evil thoughts and
desires dominate him, or unkind feel
ings have place in his heart, he has no
right to be sincere and frank in the
outspcaking or in the outshowing of
his inncrmost self, so far TO his fol-
lows. His first duty in such case Is
to keep back tho uprisings Of evil from
within. and TO strive. not for tho ex-
preston OF his thoughts and feelings
"a they are. but for their changing.
Every man recognizes this truth with
in certain limits; but most men fail TO
apply universally the principle here
involved. in all its legitimate boar
ings. II man were moved in anger
to curse his fellow, he would hardly
consider it Christian duty to be frank
and sincere in his bold cursing accord
ingly. II lustful desire for moment
had hold of him, he would
recognize tho fact thu its
frank and sincere expression
would be sin on his part. If. on the
other hand, an un-Christian feeling OF
dislike, or Of antipathy, swayed him
in his feelings toward another. he
might deludc himself with the idea
that it was his duty to be frank and
sincere in the disclosure of his scnti-
mcnts or emotions. Yet frankncss
and sincerity would in this case, as in
the other. be the unjusiiliable disclos-
urc of OWL that ought TO have boon re-
pressed until it was rooted ont from
tho heart. Sincerity and frankness
are duty when tho feeling which
Is back of them is that which
ought to be cultivated in ones
heart, and rejoiced over rs found
there They arc never meritorious or
c0mmendable when they are the
prompting Of n feeling which ought to
be changed. In fac, every person
ought to try to seem toward every
other person just rs he ought 10 feel
toward that person, whether no feels
that way or not. There Is two-fold
duty in our relations to our fellows
the duty of feeling right, and tho duty
of seeming to feel right; or. In other
words. the duty Of right feeling and
the duty OF manifcsting right feeling.
Because man fails in the
first Of those duties. 1t Is to
his added discredt that he feels
free to fail in the second. There
are persons who unhcsiiatingly show
unkindness or discourtcsy or indiffer-
cnce To their fellows. saying TO them
selves rs they do so: "Im one who Is
always frank and sincere. Every body
can know just how l feel toward
them" They do not realize the truth
that their frankness and sincerity are
a result Of their unwillingncss to feel
right In tho first place. and then To
show that they feel right. Their frank
ness and sincerity are rs much 10 their
discrodit In fact, ~ gross hypocrisy |
would be. IS. s. Times