When I was in high school, I read a delightful play by Oscar Wilde called “The Importance of Being Earnest.”  It was a British farce or satire, a play on words.  One of the main characters, Jack, pretends to be a man named Ernest while he is in town having fun.  He wants to propose to Gwendolyn, but she thinks that’s his real name.  All sorts of mayhem ensues caused by his deception.

And of course, Jack learned that he would have been better off being earnest than Ernest.

As funny as this play is, and I’d encourage you to read it if you haven’t, that’s not why I’m writing this post. I’m writing it because earnestness has gotten a bad rap.

As in the Victorian era, we’ve been told that earnest is unsophisticated.  Naïve.  Cool people aren’t earnest.  Intelligent people aren’t earnest.  Sophisticated people aren’t earnest.  We’re sarcastic, cynical. Maybe even apathetic.  Somehow above it all.

But here’s the thing: sophisticated doesn’t change the world. Sarcasm doesn’t lead to love.  And cynicism doesn’t bring joy.  Being above it all means we don’t experience it up close. It leaves us feeling very much alone.

The greatest world-changers have been very much in the world.  Not above it.  Jesus.  Fished, walked, ate, and partied with real people in their own homes.  Mother Theresa moved from her home in Albania to India, and later to the poorest of the poor to live and serve.  Yes, they had a higher calling.  At the same time, they were very much in the world.  Not above it.  Earnest.

Earnest doesn’t mean naïve.  It means believing that we can do better.  The world can be better.  That wholeheartedness is the way.  Earnest has a clear-eyed vision of reality, and still choses to hope.

Evil happens.  Disasters happen.  The Holocaust, Slavery, Racism, Sexism and School Shootings.  All real.  And yet.

And yet there’s hope.  Joy.  Beauty.  It’s real too.  Earnest believes light is the way to overcome the darkness.  It doesn’t pretend the darkness isn’t there.  It doesn’t try to live above it.  It digs in and helps.  With a whole heart.

Are you tired of cynicism and isolation?  I am.  I’m going to show up with my whole heart, even if others don’t.  I’m going to choose to engage with people who don’t think like I think.  Act like I act.  And not by accusing or looking down my nose.  By listening with my heart to another human being.  God’s creation.

Let’s be earnest together.  It’s a little less scary when we can encourage one another.  Because we will get hurt.  But at this point, I’d rather be hurt and feel the pain.  Because it’s only if we’re willing to feel pain that we can feel joy. It’s only when we’re willing to hear that we will be heard.

Are you in?  Leave a comment to encourage anyone who visits this page.