Sirach 1:17-30: a reflection

17She will fill all her house with desirable things, and her storehouses with her produce. 18The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom, making peace and perfect health to flourish. 19He both saw and measured her. He rained down skill and knowledge of understanding, and exalted the honor of those who hold her fast. 20To fear the Lord is the root of wisdom. Her branches are length of days. 22Unjust wrath can never be justified, for his wrath tips the scale to his downfall. 23A man that is patient will resist for a season, and afterward gladness will spring up to him. 24He will hide his words until the right moment, and the lips of many will tell of his understanding. 25A wise saying is in the treasures of wisdom; but godliness is an abomination to a sinner. 26If you desire wisdom, keep the commandments and the Lord will give her to you freely; 27for the fear of the Lord is wisdom and instruction. Faith and humility are his good pleasure. 28Don’t disobey the fear of the Lord. Don’t come to him with a double heart. 29Don’t be a hypocrite in men’s sight. Keep watch over your lips. 30Don’t exalt yourself, lest you fall and bring dishonor upon your soul. The Lord will reveal your secrets and will cast you down in the midst of the congregation, because you didn’t come to the fear of the Lord and your heart was full of deceit.

In its teaching on the fear of the Lord as the root of wisdom, Sirach gives a series of warnings that cluster around one theme: sincerity before God. Do not disobey the fear of the Lord, it says, and do not come to him with a double heart. Do not be a hypocrite before others; keep watch over your lips; do not exalt yourself. And it warns that the Lord will reveal the secrets of the one who comes to him deceitfully, whose heart is full of falseness. The call, running through it all, is to come to God with a single, sincere heart, not a divided, hypocritical one.

Notice the warning against a double heart. To come to God with a double heart is to be divided, to appear devout outwardly while harboring falseness within, to be a hypocrite, honoring God with the lips while the heart is elsewhere. Sirach warns against this sharply, because God sees the secrets we hide; he is not deceived by an outward show that masks a divided heart. The call is to sincerity, to a single, undivided heart before the God who sees through every pretense.

That is a searching call, because a double heart is a real danger. It is possible to maintain an appearance of devotion while our hearts are divided, harboring secret falseness, going through religious motions while our real loyalties lie elsewhere. But God is not fooled by the outward show; he sees the heart. Do not come to God with a double heart. Seek to be sincere before him, undivided, without hypocrisy, letting your outward devotion match an inward reality. God sees the secrets you hide; come to him honestly, with a single heart, and let there be no gap between the devotion you show and the heart you actually have.

Lord, your word warns me not to come to you with a double heart, not to be a hypocrite, not to harbor falseness within while appearing devout without, for you see the secrets I hide. Guard me from a divided heart. It is possible to keep up an appearance of devotion while my heart is divided, harboring secret falseness, going through the motions while my real loyalties lie elsewhere. But you are not fooled by the outward show; you see my heart. Help me come to you sincerely, with a single, undivided heart, without hypocrisy, letting my outward devotion match an inward reality. Let there be no gap between the devotion I show and the heart I actually have. Search me, and make my heart single and true before you, who sees through every pretense.