Leadership
How Not to Confess Your Sin
Unless you took your honeymoon in August, you’re probably aware that the United States did very well at the 31st Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro–with one glaring exception.
Toward the end of the Games, celebrated American swimmer Ryan Lochte, 32, and three of his younger swimming buddies, gave America a black eye by some atrocious behavior outside the pool.
I was saddened by what happened, but even more troubled by the way Lochte handled it.
I’ve been in numerous settings where I’ve shared with others how to confess their sins. What gave me the authority to do it? Being a sinner myself , making mistakes, learning from them, and also devouring quite a bit of literature on the power of confession and forgiveness.
One thing we can learn from Ryan Lochte is how not to confess your sin.
Let me begin by saying that there are a number of angles to the Lochte saga. According to a recent USA Today, article, it’s probably true that the Brazilian police did a little editing of tape and also did not tell the full story. It’s also true that Mr. Lochte has lost much future endorsement money in the past few weeks when he was quickly dumped by former sponsors Speedo USA, Ralph Lauren and skin-care firm Syneron-Candela.
Bad actions have negative consequences.
I will let columnist Steve Berman share his perspective on how Ryan Lochte and teammates Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz, and Jimmy Feigen brought shame to America late one night during the Rio Olympics.
“Ryan Lochte needs to man up and fly to Rio. I watched Matt Lauer‘s interview with Lochte and cringed at his statement, ‘I over-exaggerated that story.’ It’s not the regretful words of a 32-year-old man, it’s the excuse of a 21-year-old frat boy; the very frat boy Lochte claims he’s not.”
“These are the facts:
- Lochte went to an all-night party held by the French team and got horribly drunk.
- He and three teammates took a cab ride home around 6 a.m., and stopped for gas and to relieve themselves.
- Unable to get into the rest room, at least one of them forced the restroom door open, or urinated in the bushes behind the station.
- Confronted by security, Lochte pulled an advertising banner from the station’s wall.
- The security guards would not let the swimmers leave until they’d paid, or the police arrived (it’s unclear if they were actually called).
- When Lochte tried to leave, one of the guards drew his firearm and pointed it in the swimmers’ direction.
- The swimmers paid the equivalent of $50 and left.”
“Here’s what Lochte told everyone, starting with his mother:
- We were robbed at gunpoint at 3 a.m.
- The robbers stopped our taxi, ordered us to get out, get down on the ground.
- I resisted, and had a gun put to my forehead and cocked.
- I gave the robbers my wallet.”
“This is not ‘over-exaggerating.’ It’s flat-out lying.”
“Laurer brought Lochte nearly to tears after asking if he realized what he’d done to his teammates. Lochte also admitted he could lose sponsors, and potentially be banned from competitive swimming. Almost certainly, his apology on Instagram was made mostly to keep himself from that fate.”
Lochte didn’t vary much from that statement in his interview with Laurer. But his problem isn’t with USA Swimming, or the USOC, or his teammates, or his sponsors. His problem is with America and Brazil.”
“Would anyone blame Brazilians for protecting the honor of their country as the host country of the Olympic Games?”
“As a Georgian for the past 24 years, I witnessed the Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games. To me, they were a proud embarrassment. Proud because Atlanta, less than 2 hours from my home, pulled it off. They were a great games. Embarrassment, because of the transportation, ticketing, and security problems that were widely reported. And then there was the pipe bomb at Centennial Olympic Park. No effort was spared to capture Erick Rudolph. It took two years.”
“That was the last time the U.S. hosted the summer games. President Obama tried to get the games for Chicago, and made an unprecedented personal appeal. He failed. Ryan Lochte could cost America the summer games: Los Angeles has bid for 2024, along with Rome, Paris and Budapest.”
“Why would the IOC select Los Angeles when American athletes are perceived as lying about an Olympic host country, then fleeing home?”
‘It’s how you want to make it look like. Whether you call it a robbery, whether you call it extortion, or us paying just for the damages, like, we don’t know,’ Lochte responded. ‘All we know is that there was a gun pointed in our direction, and we were demanded to give money.’
‘We just wanted to get out of there,’ Lochte said. ‘We were all frightened. And we wanted to get out of there as quick as possible. And the only way we knew is — this guy saying, ‘You have to give him money.’ So we gave him money, and we got out.’”
“Fortunately, there’s a solution here. Lochte should stop saying he ‘over-exaggerated’ his account in the press. He should tell the truth–he lied to make himself look better. He didn’t care about his teammates, or his country, or swimming at that point. He cared about Ryan.”
“He should get on an airplane–today–clear customs in Brazil, and let himself be taken into custody. He should pay whatever fine they hit him with. Then he should go on Brazilian television and confess his lie. They’re human. They’ll accept it if he gives it sincerely.”
If you have haven’t seen the Lauer interview, you can view it here. I must admit it’s painful to watch. It reminded me of the first time HIllary Clinton tried to explain her secret e-mail server. Both of them danced, swerved, lied, used carefully crafted excuses that meant nothing–and then showed a little contrition to make you feel sorry for them.
But that’s not enough. Here’s what I’ve learned from my own failures about how to confess your sins:
1. Begin by confessing to God. He is the main One you’re sinned against (Psalm 51:4) since all wrong actions are rebellion against His kingdom and ways. Do that in private, receive His forgiveness and ask for His empowering to help make the situation right.
1. Go to the people you’ve harmed and be honest and transparent as quickly as possible (Matthew 5:23-26) . Tell exactly what you did and why you did it. Truth is important to God and has a ring of authority to it that can help to undo the damage (though it will never completely remove the stain).
2. Be humble about your mistake (James 5:16). Don’t make any excuses or rationalize it in any way. Remember this: to rationalize is to tell yourself and the world a rational lie. But it’s still a lie–and adds a second wrong to your already bad behavior. In fact, oftentimes the cover up or justification is worse than the offense itself.
3. Don’t use the cheap words “I’m sorry” when dealing with your guilt. Whenever you sin against someone, look them in the eye, state what you did without justification, and ask them if they will forgive you. Saying you’re sorry focuses on you and can be self-serving–just trying to clear your conscience. Asking their forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32) puts the rightful focus on them and your desire to honor and clear up the hurt. It also gives the other person the opportunity to exercise forgiveness–a beautiful God-quality.
4. Make sure to confess your sin to all those you’ve harmed. If it’s one person, then go to the one. If it’s a group, then confess to the group. In Ryan Lochte’s case, I agree with Steve Berman that he needs to go to Brazil and ask forgiveness of the nation he trashed–also his Olympic teammates, the US Olympic committee, and the world at large that was negatively impacted by his actions. Always confess to the sphere of offense.
5. Do what you can (for the rest of your life) to make restitution for your sin. Ryan Lochte may have lost millions of dollars in endorsement money, but he could spend many years talking to thousands of kids about the evils of drunkenness, vandalism, and lying that could save them from his fate. A great way to restore a reputation is to re-build it again through repentant actions.
Pray for Ryan Lochte to do the right thing. Don’t look down on him. You’ve down similar things–just on the same scale. We’re all sinners who need to learn humility and appropriate grace.
And some of us need a refresher course in confessing our sins.
Why Do the Democrats Hold an Electoral College Advantage?
As the 2016 US presidential race moves into the final ninety days, there’s been a lot of talk about the Democratic Party’s Electoral College edge that could lead Hillary Clinton to victory.
This advantage is well known, but I’ve never heard anyone explain it Did it just emerge out of nowhere? Did the Dems buy off some states that they now hold in their pocket? Or is there something we can learn about the Electoral College that might give us our marching orders?
Much is at stake in the 2016 contest and beyond. So why do the Democrats hold an Electoral College advantage?
First of all, let talk about the US Electoral College of which most American voters know very little.
It’s an institution that elects the President and VP every four years. Citizens do not directly elect the president or the vice president. Instead, they elect representatives called “electors”, who generally pledge to vote for the leaders their states have chosen via the popular vote.
Electors are apportioned to each of the 50 states as well as to the District of Columbia. The number of electors in each state is equal to the number of members of Congress to which the state is entitled, while the Twenty-third Amendment grants the District of Columbia the same number of electors as the least populous state, currently three.
Therefore, there are currently 538 electors, corresponding to the 435 Representatives and 100 Senators, plus the three additional electors from the District of Columbia. The Constitution bars any federal official, elected or appointed, from being an elector.
Except for the electors in Maine and Nebraska, electors are elected on a “winner-take-all” basis. That is, all electors pledged to the presidential candidate who wins the most votes in a state become electors for that state. Maine and Nebraska use the “congressional district method”, selecting one elector within each congressional district by popular vote and selecting the remaining two electors by a statewide popular vote.
The candidate who receives an absolute majority of electoral votes (currently 270) for the office of president is elected to that office.
The Twelfth Amendment also provides for what happens if the Electoral College fails to elect a president or vice president. If no candidate receives a majority for president, then the House of Representatives will select the president, with each state delegation (instead of each representative) having only one vote.
If no candidate receives a majority for vice president, then the Senate will select the vice president, with each senator having one vote. On four occasions, most recently in 2000, the Electoral College system has resulted in the election of a candidate who did not receive the most popular votes in the election (George W. Bush).
Recently, a Republican strategist suggested that John Kasich choose a mainstream Democrat from another state and run a “Unity Ticket” against both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. He noted that if these two candidates win their home states, then neither Hillary nor Trump can reach 270 electoral votes, thus throwing the election to Congress as outlined above.)
That’s your civics lesson of the day.
Why did our founders set up this system instead of just using a direct vote of the people?
Because they were smart. They realized rightly that “direct democracy” easily devolves into mob rule and group think. They also didn’t want the bigger states dominating the little ones. That’s another form of tyranny by the masses. They wanted the smaller states to have a fair say–for their votes to be meaningful.
So the Electoral College was born. It’s really a brilliant design to balance the power of large and small.
This brings us to the advantage of the Democratic Party in the Electoral College. Here’s the math to make it simple:
- At the present time, eighteen states in America reliably vote Democrat in every presidential election. Those states are on the west coast and eastern seaboard–and include some very large states such as California and New York. These eighteen states–called the “Blue Wall”–contain 237 electoral votes–just 23 short of what’s needed to win.
- Another fourteen states–most of which are in the Mid-west and South have reliably voted Republican for years. But they are states with smaller populations and thus smaller Electoral College votes. The red States make up 101 electoral votes.
This gives the Democratic Party a huge advantage. Their candidate, unless they’re a murderer or spouse-beater, has a pretty strong lock on 247 electoral votes. They only need to snag a few more states–like Ohio and Florida–or any other combination of smaller states to win.
On the other hand, the Republican standard-bearer needs to run the table of many states to add enough electoral votes to their 101 to triumph.
Thus the “Blue Wall” electoral “lock” of the Democrats. This has been true of every presidential election since Ronald Reagan swept 49 states in 1988. Since that time, the “Blue Wall” has emerged to frustrate many Republican candidates for president.
Why is this so?
Here is the reality behind the electoral math.
1. America is in a world view battle in which the Judeo-Christian worldview is being overtaken by the secular/atheist worldview.
In terms of colors, biblical faith equals red and secular progressive equals blue. Over the past five decades more people have become secular than have been born again in Christ.
2. Secular group think has mushroomed in the urban cities of the west and east coasts.
Take my own state of Washington. For the past few decades, if you color a map of Washington by the votes of each county, then your map would look almost entirely red (Judeo-Christian) except for a blue circle in King County (secular) where Seattle is located. By glancing at the map you might think that Washington is a Red State with a blue dot. But, over half of the state’s population lives in that King County blue circle–so WA is usually locked down for the Dems.
Same is true of Oregon (Portland dominating the redness of the rest of the state), and also California where secular, urban Los Angeles gives the country’s most populous state a definite blue edge.
It’s assumed by most people that Hillary Clinton will win this secular “Left Coast.” Urban folks near the Pacific Ocean have tended to turn away from God, biblical morality and traditional values.
The same is true of most of the city-dwellers of the east coast–where much of the national population lies. Big urban states like New York and New Jersey are Democratic strongholds, and the other cities in other eastern and Midwestern states have become breeding grounds for Democratic votes.
3. The secularizing of the public schools (latter 20th century) and the radical atheism that now rules in academia on a collegiate level is a huge mega-phone for atheism.
Most of our colleges, both public (i.e. state universities) and private (Ivy League Schools) are in the cities growing humanist/secularist philosophy like a sociological cancer. They are also churning out “blue votes” by focusing on humanist causes and bashing those who believe in God and share conservative values.
The atheists have understood the following maxim better than God-fearing people: The philosophy of the schools in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.
4. Most of the mainstream media emanates from the cities and multiplies the liberal bias.
Think of the power of Hollywood in the west and Manhattan in the east. The majority of the media outlets in these areas pump out secular progressive news slants on a daily basis ridiculing Christians, advocating for abortion, promoting sexual deviancy, pushing for bgger government, and pointing the culture to man-made solutions instead of humble submission to a Higher Power.
The media are primary sponsors of the growing “Blue Wall.”
5. Human depravity makes it easier to be selfish, secular, and me-oriented rather than developing the strength of godly character.
It’s easier to sin than to be virtuous and self-controlled. So it’s easier to be a Democrat who wants the government to give us everything (like free college education) than to be a Republican and believes you need to work for it and pay for it yourself.
Being liberal caters to the flesh. Judeo-Christians values require character and self-control.
6. There is a devil and a satanic kingdom who are conspiring to bring down the heritage and exceptionalism of the United States through atheist propaganda.
We are not just fighting human words. There is a demonic contingent behind the issues that are trying to destroy both people and nations.
What must the people of God do to knock down the Blue “Iron Curtain”?
First, understand how it was built. Second, pray for God’s awakening of his people to do his will on earth. Third, share our faith with passion as never before! Fourth, possess a greater long-range vision for our neighborhoods, schools, universities, the media and all aspects of government than the other side does.
May God help us.
What the Presidential Tickets Tell Us About America
Tonight, the first woman in American history to represent her party for president of the United States–Hillary Rodham Clinton–will make her acceptance speech before the Democratic National Convention.
Last week, the Republicans nominated the first non-politician/non military person–businessman Donald Trump–to head a presidential ticket. Trump chose Indiana governor Mike Pence as his running mate and Hillary Clinton selected Virginia senator (and former governor) Tim Kaine as her VP.
The presidential tickets are now set and in fourteen weeks, we with choose our 45th chief executive.
What do this year’s choices tell us about America?
We need to be constantly reminded that we live in a brief corridor of history where people pick their leaders. Abraham Lincoln called it “government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
In other words, we are the government. We vote for our leaders, they represent us in enacting and enforcing our laws, and those laws are meant to benefit the people. That formula–“people power”–is what made America (among other things) a very exceptional nation.
It was not always so.
On a recent trip to Asia, I read a book called The Story of the World, Part I by Susan Wise Bauer. It gives a fascinating portrayal of the broad strokes of history–from the beginning of time to the end of the Roman Empire (Part II covers the Middle Ages to the present).
If any one thing characterized life during the past seven thousand years, it was this:
Despots. Tyrants. All powerful kings.
The Bible mentions Nimrod and Babel. Then came Sargon in Sumeria, the Pharoahs in Egypt, and numerous Babylonian and Assyrian dictators. For a brief time, Greece and Rome returned some power to the people in their early city-states, but eventually they fell to the likes of Alexander the Great and numerous Caesars.
In other parts of the world it was the same story. Whether India, China, or the ancient New World, warrior chiefs or strong men rose to the top of their tribes and ruled their societies. As I read chapter after chapter of The Story of the World, it struck me that most people in history lived in daily fear of being wiped out by the nearest tribe, chieftain, emperor or strong man and lived their lives doing what the dictator told them to do.
Elections and freedom didn’t exist.
Until America.
Of course, hundreds of years of the development of Christian civilization in Europe paved the way. As European people came to Christ and began reading and applying the Bible to everyday life, human rights rose in people’s hearts and rulers began to be replaced by laws.
For 6500 years it was Rex rex–the King is king (you do what he says). But, over the past five hundred years, humankind took a giant leap.
Lex rex. The Law is king (Do what the people want).
America was the world’s first biblically-oriented society that put that truth into governmental form.
This Sunday night, I encourage you to watch Bill O’Reilly’s Legends and Lies docu-drama on the Fox News Network. For the past two months it’s been the most watched weekend program in the nation. It chronicles the truths and myths behind the American Revolution. This week it will focus on America’s first president, General George Washington.
For those of us who’ve enjoyed free elections for the past 230 years, it’s hard to believe that many early American colonists wanted to make George Washington the first king of the colonies. Why? Because kings were all they’d ever known (throughout history). And kings were often tyrants–just like King George of England.
Human beings had always been dominated by strong men.
America exceptionally led the world into freedom by rejecting power at the top and giving it to a “moral and religious people” (John Adam’s words) who would govern themselves through laws made and enforced by their representatives.
“Government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
That was the essence of the American Revolution. It was an idea that changed the world.
In the 6500 years of “dictator” history, kings did not always reflect their subjects. Good societies could be led by evil tyrants or vice versa. Occasionally in history God used good leaders to bring renewal to the people (David, Hezekiah and Josiah et al). Other times, bad rulers were a sign of judgment to a back-slidden nation (e.g. Manasseh, Nebuchanezzar).
In modern free societies who elect their leaders, there’s a clearer correlation between magistrates and people. Good people (moral and religious) generally vote for righteous leaders. Bad societies (immoral and selfish) usually vote for narcissists like themselves.
Thus, leaders of free voting nations are “mirrors of the people.”
So, what do the two presidential tickets tell us about the American people in 2016?
1. A majority of Americans (or an influential minority of those who vote) are atheists or secularists. This is the first election in post-Christian America. Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton (despite what they say) are anchored to biblical truth. Trump is a populist bully and Clinton is a corrupt, career politician. One’s a bellicose outsider and the other is a sleazy insider. The majorities of both parties voted for these man-centered politicians–telling you much about themselves.
2. A good portion of the American electorate is angry–not a great virtue. Trump supporters want strength and less government. Their strongest moral value is work ethic = I can do it myself. This is Trump’s message and that of his impressive children. It’s not “I can do all things through Christ” (Ephesians 4:13) but rather “I can get it done if I work hard enough.”
Clinton supporters are just as self-oriented, but from the opposite tack. They want America to be weak in the world and receive as many entitlements as they can get (free health care, college tuition, etc.–hey, why don’t we throw in free cars and mortgages?). Bernie Sander’s audiences epitomized this nanny state consumerism. Their message is: “You do it for ME!”
Each of these candidates represent flip sides of the same coin of self. It’s either protect me or give me. Both ideas will erode the power of liberty in the American nation.
3. Mike Pence and Tim Kaine represent America’s Christian past–now a minority view in the country. That’s why they’re in the second slot, not the first chair. On the Republican side, many biblically-grounded candidates were voted down in favor of the strong man, Trump. Pence is a sound evangelical who would have made a fine president. He’s “Christian, conservative and Republican” in that order. Time Kaine is a former Catholic missionary who’s personally pro-life–kind of a 21st century JFK.
Both were chosen because Trump and Clinton recognize their need for the “God-vote” in the country to put them over the top. In truth, I’d love to see both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton step down and let Pence and Kaine run for the highest office in the land. Their match-up would be worthy of our heritage. Unfortunately, in 2016, they are just a faint echo of a once Judeo-Christian, freedom-loving society.
4. Hillary Clinton probably has the edge because those who want free stuff are more united than those who want to be protected. Even with the splinter of the Sander’s insurgency, Democrats tend to coalesce around their standard bearer (90%). This year, due to Trump’s obvious faults, Republicans are in the 70% support range. That probably means a third Obama term and accelerating American decline.
Look in the mirror, America! These four faces are staring back at you:
- God-loving and fearing conservatives. (Pence)
- Religious moderates (Kaine).
- Angry pragmatists – Trump-eteers, and
- Angry narcissists – Clintonites
But anger is at the top of the ticket with godly values along for the ride. How foolish we are. I wish it were Pence versus Kaine. But that train has left the station in 2016.
Keep praying for God’s break-out among our “leaders”–we, the people.