Thursday; November 17

There are several quotes that go down in history – some are inspiring and some are remembered because they came back to haunt someone. In 1973, in the midst of a spiraling administration, President Richard Nixon told the media, “… people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook. I earned everything I’ve got.” Within a year, the president would resign and accept a pardon so that he wouldn’t have to face any formal charges. Almost fifty years after making this statement, the irony of it rings true … even if the factual basis of the claim may be lacking. Whether he participated directly in the misdeeds of those around him, most people believe he earned what he eventually got.

It is easy to make claims about our actions, but our words are not the final test of our truth. Just because we plead innocent, that doesn’t mean that we aren’t guilty. This observation isn’t just true in a court of law, it extends to every act of our life. We may maintain our purity, but truth will be determined independently. We can talk a good game, but the proof of our goodness is in how we live our lives. In fact, we do ourselves a double disservice when we claim purity and are later found to be guilty. Not only will people judge us for what we do, our lies reinforce their distrust of us. It is one thing to make a mistake, it is compounded when we lie about it.

Let’s do our best to live a good life. However, when we misstep (and we will), let’s admit to it and deal with the consequences of our actions. If we don’t, not only will they be hesitant to forgive us, they won’t be too apt to forget it either.

Think About It!

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