“Candor is the key to collaborating effectively. Lack of candor leads to dysfunctional environments.” – Edwin Catmull – American Scientist
You might remember the game show To Tell the Truth. Celebrity panelists are challenged to guess which of three contestants is the person with a very unique story or profession. Two of the contestants are impostors. The celebrities ask a series of questions to each of the contestants. The impostors can lie or fabricate their story to cause the celebrities to believe they are the person in question. The other is contestant is the real person, and must answer all questions with CANDOR – the quality of being open and honest in expression; frankness.
Walt Whitman once said, “All faults may be forgiven of him who has perfect candor,” but candor is a difficult character quality to find these days. It’s come to the point where it is difficult to trust the words of others, because words are no longer our bond. Sometimes it’s even hard to trust ourselves too. If we know that we’ve not been honest, how can we expect candor from others?
Did you know that two of the seven things described as detestable or an abomination to the LORD in Proverbs 6 are a lying tongue (vs.17) and a false witness that pours out lies? (vs. 19) Jesus in John 14:6 referred to Himself as the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life. He called the devil in the father of lies.(John 8:44) Integrity is important to God. Paul wrote that speaking the truth in love is a characteristic of maturity in Ephesians 4:15. Verse 25 says, “Therefore, putting away lying, “ Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.” Truth is key to good relationships. Antonyms for candor are guardedness, evasiveness, and insincerity. That means that you can lie or be lied to without words. Candor means that even our expressions are frank: open, sincere, and undisguised. Are you offering candor to others? It’s time to tell the truth.
