At What Price?

I am not a big fan of reality television shows. I barely know they exist, much less do I know the difference between American Idol and Survivor. About all I can tell you of the difference between these two shows is from the commercials hyping them. It seems to me the major distinction between the two shows, from what little I know, is that the contestants on American Idol do not get as dirty as the contestants on Survivor.

One contestant from Survivor who was recently voted off the competition is reported to have said, "I sure as heck was out there for a million dollars, I wasn't out there for my integrity." The contestant may have been honest in her reflections regarding her experience on the show. Sadly, however, her brute honesty is more reflective of our culture than most of us think about. The idea she would or could put a price tag on her integrity speaks volumes about the superficiality and shallowness of her values – this is true for any of us regardless of the dollar amount.

Outside of some form of gambling or some promotional give-away (neither of which, in my mind, qualifies as legitimate competition), few of us will ever have the opportunity to legitimately compete based on our skill and talent for a million dollars and become famous. So I am not being critical of the reality television show for either the competition or the rewards offered. What should be disconcerting to right thinking people is that we live in a culture which thinks nothing of putting a price tag on integrity and honors the compromise of values to achieve success.

Are we guilty? We may rationalize to ourselves that we wouldn't do it for a million dollars. The irony is we may sell our integrity for a lot less money. What about a few hundred on our taxes? The irony is that we may justify the compromise of our values on the basis of a seemingly more noble pursuit (success). What about cheating on an exam for a passing grade? The irony is we may abandon our integrity and compromise our values for something as trivial as lust and pleasure. What about illicit sexual behavior and/or substance abuse just to be accepted by your peers? One can have all those things (saving hundreds on taxes, success, and acceptance, etc.) but at what cost? Jesus will have the last word, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26) There are no regrets to be had only joy for doing the right thing and letting your light shine through your integrity and values. Can we say the same about compromising our integrity?

Integrity and the "Credit Tsunami"

Alan Greenspan, former head of the Federal Reserve, facing tough questions from Congress, acknowledged partial wrong in his efforts to deregulate. He refers to the current economic crisis as "a once-in-a-century Credit Tsunami."

I am no money expert and I am not sure about deregulation or regulation both are a two-edged sword. Nonetheless, let me state unequivocally that neither deregulation nor regulation is at the heart of our financial crisis. At the very center of the problem is humanity! That's right human beings like you and me. Unfortunately, many of these humans are governed by an insatiable appetite for wealth and an unquenchable thirst for power acting more like animals than they do humans. They give the human race a bad name!

What is lacking in humanity whether it is up on Capitol Hill, or over on Wall Street, or down home on Main street is INTEGRITY. While many on Main Street are yelling for prison terms (and rightly so) for those who are guilty on Wall Street and Capitol Hill. The sad truth is, if they were on Wall Street or Capitol Hill they would have been just as guilty. Regardless, of the guilt of the greedy power-brokers and the financial gurus and even though they may buy themselves out of serving time in prison - they remain human though they act like wild animals.

However, one day, like all the rest of us, they will face the Judge of all humanity in eternity where there will be no unsolved mysteries as to who is guilty and who is to blame (Ezekiel 18:20). If men and women lived with this in mind, regulation or deregulation would not be an issue, INTEGRITY would rule the day - "a man's word would be his bond" regardless of race, socio-economic classification, or whether he worked on Main Street, Wall Street, or Capitol Hill.

Obama Barack's Flag Flack. . .

It is absurd what political pundits find to write about regarding candidates running for office. The latest is Barack’s recent comments about not wearing his flag lapel pin any more, which he did wear following 9-11. For the record, I am not a supporter of Barack, even if Oprah is! However, I think his explanation (see below) for not wearing the flag lapel pin is valid.

… I probably haven't worn a flag pin in a very long time. After a while I noticed people wearing a lapel pin and not acting very patriotic. My attitude is that I'm less concerned about what you're wearing on your lapel than what's in your heart. You show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those who serve. You show your patriotism by being true to our values and ideals. That's what we have to lead with is our values and our ideals.

I was reminded of a story a friend of mine told me about his son. It was several years ago when the WWJD bracelets were all the rage. His son who was about 8 or 9 years old, while playing some kind of organized football, came across the line and “put the hurts” on the offensive lineman trying to guard him and a scuffle ensued. My friend said he had been watching the two of them all game long. The offensive tackle had been getting the best of him for most of the game. He noticed several times when his son would get up after the play the offensive lineman would say something to him or would purposely bump into him. Finally, his son had all of it he wanted. That’s when he “put the hurt” on him and they began to scuffle a bit before the ref broke it up.

After the game was over my friend was walking off the field with his son. My friend told me he wasn’t going to mention the incident because he felt to some extent it’s all part of the game and the coach had already talked to him about the incident. However, after he looked at his son’s wrist as they were walking to the car and noticed the WWJD bracelet, he couldn’t resist. So with a grin he had to ask, “Son, when you got into that scuffle with that offensive lineman and you were hitting him, I am just curious, were you wearing that What Would Jesus Do bracelet?”

Whether you like Barack as potential candidate or not his explanation about patriotic values and wearing flag lapel pins is right on target. Our patriotism and good citizenship, as an American, is revealed by how we live, respect the law and treat others. Too bad politicians (along with many others) don't make the same connection about their faith. Namely, it’s how you live, respect the laws of the God and treat others that reveals your light as a Christian – not your profession of belief or the wearing of some religious icon, bumper sticker or bracelet. There is a reason Jesus asks, “"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46)

Dan Rather. . . NOT

Dan Rather's admission of allegedly being coerced into apologizing for his participation in spreading the lies about the President's military record in 2004 is humorous. I think he protests way too much (there is a Shakespeare line in that somewhere). Two weeks after the shameless bias of Rather an investigative journalist and CBS a major news network was exposed, much to their chagrin, Rather offered this seemingly sincere apology:

The failure of CBS News to…properly, fully scrutinize the documents and their source led to our airing the documents when we should not have done so. It was a mistake. CBS News deeply regrets it. Also, I want to say personally and directly, I’m sorry.

Does the man have any credibility? He wants us to believe the fraudulent story he apologized for was true and the sincere apology he gave for reporting on the fraudulent story is now a fraud. Yikes! Sorry Dan but I'd RATHER not. He claims his reputation was ruined by CBS and that he was let go on account of that fraudulent story. He is suing them for $ 70 million. Seems to me he did a pretty good job of ruining his own reputation and undermining whatever integrity he had. I am reminded of the Ecclesiastes writer's pungent warning: "Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor" (Eccl. 10:1).