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Robin Revier
Good News
Bill
Clinton,
Arnold
Schwarzenneger, Michael Vick,
O.J. Simpson, Dan Marino, Riley
Cooper.
What do all of these men have
in common? They are famous men
in their own right, all with stories of
both success and failure. What sets
their lives apart from yours and
mine is that their failures became
public and ours, in most cases,
remain tucked away in the privacy
of our own hearts. That small
difference is a game changer. Lives
that get turned upside down as a
result of poor judgment have served
America with some of the finest
entertainment available. Sad isn’t it?
But that’s the reality. When the
transgressions of men become
public, most of us – though we’d
rather not admit it – want the
scoop.
And isn’t it just crazy to think
that some of the offenders (one in
particular that we probably all
recall), will boldly go before the
cameras and outright lie, saying
things like, “I did not have sexual
relations with that woman?”
It’s
so
incredibly
embarrassing but, if we’re honest,
can’t we see ourselves just a bit?
Maybe not with scandals quite so
mammoth, but in general we
usually try to back out of our
consequences and skim over our
offenses. Yet it is so easy to act
shocked over someone else’s
public improprieties.
“I show my scars so that
others know they can heal.” -
RhachelleNicol,SundayMourning
On the other hand, when the
common response is the typical
cover-up, there is nothing more
refreshing, than a guilty person
coming clean right off the bat. In
the recent case of Philadelphia
Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper,
he responded to the lack of
discretion he used during a
drunken spout of racial slurs by
saying, “Therewas a confrontation
and I handled it extremely poorly.”
Cooper was transparent in
acknowledging how stupid it was
to not consider the consequences
of his words. No defending or
covering up, but instead a genuine
apology.
You can’t ask for more than
that, really, and it serves as a great
example of how to salvage what
you may have left of your
reputation.
Vulnerability goes a long way,
and it levels the playing field. A
vulnerable
and
transparent
admission says, “I made a mistake
and, if you’re honest, you have too.
Let’s help one another do better.” I
don’t know what is more foolish
actually, someone defending a
mistake they’ve made or someone
acting shocked when they get the
news that another person has
fallen. It has been well said that if
we didn’t put people so high up on
a pedestal, they wouldn’t have so
far to fall.
Whoeverwalks in integrity
walks securely, butwhoever
takes crookedpathswill be
foundout. -Proverbs 10:9
There was a great scene in the
movie Courageous where one of
the main characters, Javier, is faced
with a decision that tests his
character. Javier’s boss presents him
with an opportunity for a
promotion, but only if he is willing
to fudge the inventory numbers. To
the delight of any viewer who holds
integrityhighon the list of character
qualities, Javier refuses on the
grounds that doing such a thing
would compromise his faith and
character. Applause, applause, and
the crowd roars right along with 2
Cor 8:21, ‘For we aim at what is
honorable not only in the Lord’s
sight, but also in the sight of man.’
The beauty of that scene is that, in
the end, Javier realizes he was
merely being testedbyhis bosswho
was looking for a good man to
promote, one that he could truly
trust. This was just a movie and
didn’t make headlines, but what
happens when we are faced with
greater challenges?
Currently there are several
public figures who are facing
embarrassing charges, one being
United
States
Representative
Anthony Weiner, who through a
habit of sexting has made a public
mess of his life, withhis privateparts
now on display all over the internet
for the world to see. This
embarrassing situation is clearly tied
to a lack of accountability and
constraint and, as a result, Weiner
has effectively signed the death
certificate of his political career.
To make matters worse, the
late night talk show hosts take
every opportunity to make fun of
something that, in reality, is heart
wrenchingly sad and unfortunate
for all concerned parties. We as
Christians have to remember that
lives are being crushed as we
judge, laugh andmake jokes about
the latest scandal, and according
to Romans 14:10-12, we may just
want to watch our step there.
“The best way to find out if you
can trust somebody is to trust
them.”- ErnestHemingway
Trust is far reaching, andwhen
you lose the ability to be trusted as a
person with integrity, you have lost
one of life’s most valuable qualities.
Any profit or promotion is
temporary and relative, but a good
reputation has the potential to last
for generations and to have a
positive impact in relationships in
every area of one’s life. Sadly, in
today’s day andage,most people are
stunned and surprised by anyone
who can genuinely be trusted. This
makes sense, though, considering
evenGodhimself said that he could
not find even one faithful person
(See Romans 3:11).
Truth be told, all of us have a
story or two that we could tell
regarding our own indiscretions.
Some worse than others, but the
fact is thatwe all fall pitifully short of
God’s standardof holyperfection in
our ownway.
While we know that we are
saved by God’s grace through faith
(Ephesians 2:8-9), our choices,
decisions and actions matter on an
earthly level. When the world
around us peeks into our lives they
should get a glimpse of the Savior
and see the fruits of theSpirit,which
are love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self control. We are
not earning God’s favor by
displaying these things; we display
them because we already have his
favor through Christ who earned it
on our behalf.Wow!
Exercising transparency with
each other is key for purposes of
accountability. We also should be
totally transparent beforeGod–not
becausehedoesn’t already knowus,
but because we need to remind
ourselves of our need for grace,
repentance and forgiveness.
Dealingwithourmistakeswith
honesty and transparency, as
opposed to minimizing, lying or
attempting to justify ourselves, will
showthewatchingworldaroundus
that we truly do trust Jesus to be
both our righteousness and our
justification. Jesus died to set us
free…and you can exercise that
freedom today by living your life as
an open book. InChrist, there is no
need for the shucking and jivingwe
see from the public figures whose
dirty laundry is aired in the public
eye. No, in Christ, there is freedom
to own our sin, and to receive
forgiveness, healing and the power
to change.
Robin is a singer and published
songwriter. She is currently
enjoying being an at home mom
and serving her husband and
three step children. Follow her on
Twitter at @robinmahria or email
her at robin3418@gmail.com.
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Good News - Broward Edition
24 September 2013
CURRENT
When Private Becomes Public