Character isn't something you hear much about today. We've developed into a relativistic society where the "absolutes" don't exist any more. If it works for you, do it. If nobody is watching, you'll probably get by with it.
Guilt is more about whether you get caught or not, not whether what you did was wrong or right, broke a moral code or God's law.
The issue of character arises when something like what has happened to the candidate Cain, CEO of Godfather's Pizza makes the news. He was accused several times of sexual harassment and most recently he made the scene because he was accused of having a 13 year affair with someone. John Edwards was having an affair and fathering a child with someone other than his wife as he ran for president.
Back when Weiner was having his troubles with sending pictures to a woman that wasn't his wife, the subject came up at the office. One of my colleagues made the comment that it shouldn't matter what he did in his private life as long as it didn't interfere with his public service.
I challenged that thought. You see, we aren't able to separate our private and public lives. We think we can...as long as someone doesn't find out what we're really like. If we don't get caught, what does it matter?
Its a matter of character. I heard a simple definition of character when I was a kid. I would make it a deeper thing than this but it's a good place to get started. Character is what you act out of when no one is watching. It is your core ethical value. It is based in the fact that as a follower of Christ we are held accountable to Him for our actions...whether we get caught or not by someone else. The motivation for our behavior isn't the fear of getting caught or even the fear of God's punishment. The thrust of our behavior comes from the relationship we have with the Father who sees all anyway. We act in a way that pleases Him because we love Him and He loves us.
If the core of someone's ethics allows them to violate their sacred marriage covenant can they adequately govern or lead anyway? I don't think so. We are our character. Our character is the core of who we are. We lead and make decisions out of our character. What is to stop someone who will violate their marriage vows from doing something else illegal? Really, nothing. Even the fear of getting caught can't keep people from behaving immorally.
If I say that I am for family values publicly and then violate the vows of a core family what does that say about me? It says that I am a person without integrity. I am operating out of duplicity. I am saying one thing and doing another. I am speaking out of both sides of my mouth. My character is not solid and my moral values are up for grabs at any moment depending on the situation.
It is time for us as followers of Christ to be people of character and integrity. It is time for us to live like we talk. It is time for us to model what singleness of mind and heart look like. If I say that I support family values then I should live a life that demonstrates that I take that seriously. If I say that I love my wife or husband then I should act like that in public and private. Not put on an act, but be integrated. If I say I uphold the law then I should uphold ALL of the law, not just the parts that are convenient, not just the parts that I can brag about keeping while leaving silent the ones that I don't uphold.
I'm ready for some leaders whose character is that of integrity. Who live lives of integrity. Who practice what they preach. Who, if they say they are on the side of the poor, don't take advantage of their position to rake in thousands of dollars so that their portfolio is bigger than when they took office. If you are for the middle and lower class, then live like us. If you are for ending homelessness, take someone in, support them or at least talk to them on the street as if they were really a person and not just a thing begging.
I was raised to be concerned about what people think about me. I judged my actions for many years on that basis. Until I realized that it really didn't matter what others thought of me. It mattered if I pleased my King. It mattered if I brought honor or shame on His name as His follower. I ultimately do what I do in light of His judgement on my heart and not whether it is right to me or 10,000 others. I can't do what I do based on what others do. I must do what I am called to do as a man of integrity who answers to a righteous judge who sees all that I say, think and do.
Corruption and sin are rampant. But by God's grace you and I can live lives of character that model the singleness of mind, the purity of righteousness that the Father holds dear, that is part and parcel of who He is. God is righteousness and His followers should like from that same core of being, out of the Spirit that is within us, not for the benefit of the sight of others but so that we can stand before Him and hear, "my good and faithful servant".
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Outliers
I recently finished listening to a book my sister-in-law gave me on CD called Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. After listening to the full set of CDs I was rather discouraged until I listened to the interview at the end of the set and had an insight.
To understand my insight in context I have to tell you a little about the book. Outliers are those things which fall outside the majority of the responses to something. So if you were a anomaly to the rest of the statistics you would be an outlier. Outliers give managers statistics to look at to determine if there is validity to the outlier or if it was just a fluke.
In Gladwell's book he talks about how most professional hockey players were born in the early part of the year. That is because of the cutoff date for kids to play hockey in different leagues. If you were born in December and not January, you would miss the cutoff date and wouldn't have the opportunities to excel in hockey as a kid growing up through the ranks of hockey clubs. You might be a good hockey player but you wouldn't be able to take advantage of the best clubs for your age, have the opportunity to play a lot or attend the best camps. Just the date of your birth would close some of the opportunities for you to develop.
He also used Bill Gates as an example. He was born into a comfortable family and had a unusual opportunity to have access to a computer in 1968 for unlimited time. It was a rare experience. There were universities and professionals who didn't have the exposure to unlimited computer time like he had as a teenager. Others who have excelled in the computing field were born around the same time.
The Beatles spent a number of years playing in German clubs, 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. You have to develop skills as a musician with that much playing time. When they hit the big time they were experienced musicians with way more practice time than most garage bands.
After listening to this book I came away rather discouraged because it left me feeling that if I wasn't born in the right time and had the right opportunities, I was just going to be average.
But the insight that came when listening to the interview at the end of the book changed all that.
Who determines when we are going to be born? If I read the Scriptures correctly we aren't born because of the whim or decision of even our parents. We often hear people talk about "accidents" or "surprise" pregnancies. But the Scriptures refute that. We are born when we are born and to whom we are born at the will of the Father. In fact, to make it more clear He tells us in Ephesians that He thought of us before the foundations of the world. We were not a mistake and our lives are not a random thing. We were born when the Father wanted us to be born.
In carrying that a little farther, the Father determines what experiences we have in life. It is He who exposes us to the opportunities He wants us to have. In fact, even as we exercise our own free will, making decisions that thwart the Father's design on our lives, He can redeem that diversion. He can use it for our good.
So we were born into the family the Father ordained. The experiences we had there, even the bad ones, can shape us and draw us to the Father for redemption of those sins committed against us. Our birth and those life experiences are not random, determined by someone else. They are under the Father's loving control of our lives.
I had to repent this week. I believe God got me the job I have in DC. It didn't come because of someone else's influence or pull. And I'm going to leave DC until the Father takes me out of there. It's not up to someone's whim whether I stay or not. My life is controlled by the Father. He opens the doors and He shuts them. Can someone or something stand in the way of God's will? Of course. But again, He can redeem it. He can open another door.
God provided a place for me to live in the DC area. The guy I am staying with and I first met in...grade school. We were friends in high school and were active in the same church youth group. We kept in touch with each other periodically over the years but I only saw him face-to-face once in 45 years. Now he is providing a home for me and companionship while I have to live away from Pat. Coincidence? I don't think so. His open heart to me was a part of God's provision for me after 50 years.
Our vision of the circumstances of our lives determine how we take advantage of the opportunities. What has the Father exposed you to? What unique experiences have you had that make you an "outlier"? What circumstances has the Father set up just for you to fulfill His call on your life? It's never too late to fulfill His heart's desire for you.
To understand my insight in context I have to tell you a little about the book. Outliers are those things which fall outside the majority of the responses to something. So if you were a anomaly to the rest of the statistics you would be an outlier. Outliers give managers statistics to look at to determine if there is validity to the outlier or if it was just a fluke.
In Gladwell's book he talks about how most professional hockey players were born in the early part of the year. That is because of the cutoff date for kids to play hockey in different leagues. If you were born in December and not January, you would miss the cutoff date and wouldn't have the opportunities to excel in hockey as a kid growing up through the ranks of hockey clubs. You might be a good hockey player but you wouldn't be able to take advantage of the best clubs for your age, have the opportunity to play a lot or attend the best camps. Just the date of your birth would close some of the opportunities for you to develop.
He also used Bill Gates as an example. He was born into a comfortable family and had a unusual opportunity to have access to a computer in 1968 for unlimited time. It was a rare experience. There were universities and professionals who didn't have the exposure to unlimited computer time like he had as a teenager. Others who have excelled in the computing field were born around the same time.
The Beatles spent a number of years playing in German clubs, 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. You have to develop skills as a musician with that much playing time. When they hit the big time they were experienced musicians with way more practice time than most garage bands.
After listening to this book I came away rather discouraged because it left me feeling that if I wasn't born in the right time and had the right opportunities, I was just going to be average.
But the insight that came when listening to the interview at the end of the book changed all that.
Who determines when we are going to be born? If I read the Scriptures correctly we aren't born because of the whim or decision of even our parents. We often hear people talk about "accidents" or "surprise" pregnancies. But the Scriptures refute that. We are born when we are born and to whom we are born at the will of the Father. In fact, to make it more clear He tells us in Ephesians that He thought of us before the foundations of the world. We were not a mistake and our lives are not a random thing. We were born when the Father wanted us to be born.
In carrying that a little farther, the Father determines what experiences we have in life. It is He who exposes us to the opportunities He wants us to have. In fact, even as we exercise our own free will, making decisions that thwart the Father's design on our lives, He can redeem that diversion. He can use it for our good.
So we were born into the family the Father ordained. The experiences we had there, even the bad ones, can shape us and draw us to the Father for redemption of those sins committed against us. Our birth and those life experiences are not random, determined by someone else. They are under the Father's loving control of our lives.
I had to repent this week. I believe God got me the job I have in DC. It didn't come because of someone else's influence or pull. And I'm going to leave DC until the Father takes me out of there. It's not up to someone's whim whether I stay or not. My life is controlled by the Father. He opens the doors and He shuts them. Can someone or something stand in the way of God's will? Of course. But again, He can redeem it. He can open another door.
God provided a place for me to live in the DC area. The guy I am staying with and I first met in...grade school. We were friends in high school and were active in the same church youth group. We kept in touch with each other periodically over the years but I only saw him face-to-face once in 45 years. Now he is providing a home for me and companionship while I have to live away from Pat. Coincidence? I don't think so. His open heart to me was a part of God's provision for me after 50 years.
Our vision of the circumstances of our lives determine how we take advantage of the opportunities. What has the Father exposed you to? What unique experiences have you had that make you an "outlier"? What circumstances has the Father set up just for you to fulfill His call on your life? It's never too late to fulfill His heart's desire for you.
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