Character demands integrity, which requires courage.
Yesterday, we looked at Michael Vick’s cowardly approach to an apology for his crimes. Afraid of the pain of authentic honesty, he hid behind generalities, misnomers, and other excuses. He pretended to take the high road by saying that he would not point the finger at others who were involved. The unspoken ending of that sentence seemed to be, “…although they pointed the finger at me and got me in trouble.”
Sadly, Vick went a step further in his apology. He pointed the finger at Jesus Christ, and claimed that he had “found Jesus” now. He wanted the world to know that this alone was proof that he was a changed man, and should be forgiven every crime.
Character demands integrity, and Vick’s statement about finding Jesus was not compatible with the exercise of integrity.
“I’m upset with myself, and, you know, through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God. And I think that’s the right thing to do as of right now,” said Michael Vick.
Those words did not flow from integrity. Vick did not find Jesus through this situation. One has only to look back over this man’s past comments to see that he has “used” Jesus and God for his own ends over a period of years.
Cybercast News Service reports indicate that Michael Vick has publicly thanked God or invoked his faith in Jesus as reasons for his success at least seven times since 1998. Vick used to pound his shoulder pads and point toward Heaven when he made touchdowns. Supposedly, he was thanking God, whom he had apparently “found”. In 2001, he thanked “the Lord” for blessing him in getting him to the first-round draft pick. “I have to thank Him for all this,” said Vick. In 2002, when asked about his younger brother who was playing football in college, Vick stated, “I pray to God every night that he gets to red shirt.” The year 2004 found Vick telling the media, “I’m just blessed to be in this position. I wake up every day and I thank God.” Florida Today reported in 2005 that Mr. Vick stated, in answer to criticisms, “I’m trying to be Michael Vick, the quarterback God made me to be.”
Character demands integrity, and a history of such statements makes Vick’s recent claim to have “found Jesus” deceitful, at best. It is two-faced – the opposite of one-faced integrity.
Integrity does not show two faces, but hypocrisy does. Hypocrisy has no problem shouting thanks to God publicly while privately committing crimes with fighting dogs and illegal gambling. Hypocrisy feels free to use God and Jesus for its own ends. Michael Vick is in trouble, and as so many celebrities have begun to do when in trouble, he takes the Lord’s name _in vain_ to soften the blows.
The end of Vick’s statement concerning his new found “faith” is telling. “,,,I think that’s the right thing to do as of right now,” said Michael Vick. As long as Jesus might keep him from doing jail time, or reduce his sentence, faith in Him seems right to Michael Vick. It is almost as though Vick was admitting that as soon as this is in the past, he will shrug off any so-called faith in Jesus and return to his old life.
The small how-to books, Character and Courage point out that there must be lasting change for supposed moral values to become true character. There must be oneness. The whole person, words, and actions must be “cut from the same cloth”. There can be no hypocrisy or duplicity.
Christians and non-Christians alike should be outraged at Michael Vick’s attempts to hide behind Jesus and God. They should be outraged at his hypocrisy. They should stand up and be counted as those who recognize that Vick in no way exhibits integrity. He in no way exhibits authentic faith. Authentic faith in God comes only through full repentance of each specific, known sin, and commitment to turn a full 180 degrees away from all sin to serve God alone. Vick has given no sign of this kind of faith.
That’s the view from my chair. What’s your view?