Victory Out of Defeat
Bad men excuse their faults; good men will leave them.
Ben Johnson
In a statement worthy of Yogi Berra (who once said, "You can observe a lot just by watching"), one pastor summed up his philosophy of mistakes: "I may not always do what's right, but I won't do wrong." He meant that he may make mistakes, but once he does, he is scrupulous about his conduct as he extricates himself.
Watergate, the classic negative example, showed a whole generation not only how to blunder badly, but how to be bad blunderers. Lies, cover-ups, and betrayed loyalties compounded the initial mistake. What pastors seek in the midst of a mistake is something completely different: a principled recovery, a moral victory in spite of the original mistake.
Taking that moral high ground demands integrity and courage. At just the point when all the world seems to be crumbling, the pastor needs most of all to be stable, to resist petty and vicious retribution, to honor God by modeling faithful behavior. It is perhaps at the point of error that the true character of the pastor shows through.
C. S. Lewis writes in Mere Christianity: "Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is. Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth. If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man: it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am. The rats are always there in the cellar, but if you go in shouting and noisily they will have taken cover before you switch on the light."
When the ...
Like the preview? To read this complete article
and 20,359 more in the archive—JOIN NOW!
Easily find high-quality, well-researched materials that provide a Christian perspective on topics ranging from headlines to history.
Start using this invaluable tool TODAY for preparing your Bible studies, presentations, class lectures, sermons, meetings, and more.
|
It's easy and quick to join:
Brought to You by Christianity Today Int'l |  |
|
| 
Find similar articles
E-mail this page
