Duplicity

"The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity." (Proverbs 11:3)

The most engaging conversation I enjoyed with Jeff all week centered on the subject of duplicity... How someone seemingly innocent and sweet on the surface can mask impure heart motives with a duplicitous persona. It's a scary thing. Things just aren't what they seem. Most of us have fallen victim to someone who's deceived us in some way. And a lot of us (myself included) have at times manipulated our personalities to suit our needs for the moment or to please people who just aren't worth pleasing.
More than anything I want to be a woman of my word, a person who conducts life with integrity. But it's so hard. I've been guilty of putting on airs to impress people and I can't always say that my motives for even serving the Lord are always pure. My sin is a desire for recognition which stems from vanity. I'm blessed with a husband who really doesn't care what people think. With Jeff, what you see is what you get. As long as he's right with the Lord, he doesn't feel a need to defend himself or get approval. I think that's where true freedom lies.
This year, I want to take one step closer to integrity and one step away from duplicity.