I’m not sure where we had been, but when John Hayden drove up his driveway, his little mutt ran off the porch and begin to bark with the attitude of a junk yard dog.  John looked at me with his characteristic ear to ear grin, and said:  “That’s the best little watchdog I’ve ever had.”

I chuckled, and said: “John, that dog is just putting on a show for you.”   I went on to tell my mentor and friend that his little watchdog never barked or even moved off the front porch when I approached his house.

This incident reminds me of Paul’s instructions in Colossians 3:22: Obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.

The word eyeservice is found only in the King James Version, but I like this unique rendering of Paul’s instructions.  It clearly explains the modus operandi of some people: Some are known as men-pleasers while others are noted for their sincerity of heart.

Sincerity is the ethic that inspired the Apostle Paul, and Philippians 1:21 is the maxim that guided his life:  For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Paul lived for Christ because he loved him, and we would do well to accept his challenge to, Be imitators of God as dearly loved children  and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. ~Ephesians 5:1-2