Mother Teresa, the late Founder of the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India said often: “Honesty and transparency will make you vulnerable.  Be honest and transparent anyway.”  Her words remind us that in an age of skepticism, criticism and doubt over motives, what post-Christian thinking people want is transparency, something that illuminates an open path directly to the human heart.

The idea behind transparency is allowing light to enter freely so that people can see to the core with clear and unobstructed vision.  In increasing ways, society has become more skeptical of the way advertising is presented and politics are played because people sense impure motives and deceitful agendas, regardless of the company, political party, or product.

Genuine transparency involves at least three components: 1) openness to allow someone in; 2) willingness to let someone examine without hindrances or barriers of any kind; and 3) genuineness to enable others to see clearly the intents and motives that are present.  When any or all of these components are compromised, people feel they have a legitimate right to question the sincerity and motivations of the person or the organization.

Jesus said much about transparency, telling his disciples that a pure heart–one that was not masked, camouflaged, or divided–was the quickest path to experiencing God’s fullness (Matthew 5:8). A person’s word–either a “yes” or a “no”–should be their primary bond because honor should undergird a person’s character (Matthew 5:37).  In the OT, Moses commanded the people of Israel to use honest weights and measurements in their business transactions with others (Leviticus 19:36, Deuteronomy 25:15).  Likewise, the OT prophets condemned those who used dishonest scales and instruments (Hosea 12:7-8, Micah 6:11-16) because they brought dishonor to God’s name and revealed deceitful scheming.

In today’s post-Christian culture, people want to see intent: what are your motivations for doing this?  To quote a famous article from ethicist Dr. Alisdair McIntyre, are your intentions “altruistic or egoistic?”  Put simply, it means that in our motives to do something for others, do we do it primarily for the genuine well-being of others, or do we do it so that this good act will draw attention to us?  Transparency lets the world know that the intentions are real and available for all to see.

The apostle Paul shows us a solid example of transparency in his first letter to the Thessalonian Christians: “For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you.  On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.  We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.  You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed–God is our witness” (1 Thessalonians 2:3-5).

If we are going to reach this post-Christian culture with the gospel, transparency must mark our motives.  People need to see our intentions, our initiatives, and yes, our organization’s financial statements if necessary, in order to keep nothing hidden from those who are looking for credibility and authenticity.

Faith is best seen when the window to the heart is clear and clean.