The Anatomy of Character - Part Deux

19th century British poet Thomas Babington Macaulay wrote, "The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out."

As I watched the press conference of Yankees outfielder Alex Rodriguez today, I wrestled with several thoughts. A-Rod, who recently admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs early in his career, began the press conference by reading a prepared statement and admitting that he made a “stupid mistake.” Later on, during a time of Q & A, one reporter asked A-Rod if he would have come forward if Sports Illustrated had not revealed his steroid use. A-Rod responded, “I haven’t thought about that much…” At this point, A-Rod’s apology sounded less like, “I’m sorry I did it” and more like, “I’m sorry I got caught”.

As I watched A-Rod field questions, I began to think about the subjects of character, integrity, and repentance. As a follower of Christ, these are the standards by which I measure my growth as a man.

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever held something hot in your hand? You know, like when you take something out of the microwave to move to the counter and it's so hot that you have to let it go? To me, this is what sin is like. It burns deep and the longer we try to hold onto it the more we get burned, so we have to let it go. We realize the quicker we let it go, the less damage we do. If we have experienced true repentance, we remember the burn and know better than to pick it up next time. We are sincerely humbled by the experience.

However, to not recognize or feel the burn until someone says that your flesh is falling off is just plain self-destructive. This is the opposite of repentance. If we don’t feel the pain or recognize the damage of what we are doing, until another person points it out, we have deeper issues.

Men of true character and integrity, honestly grieve the mistakes they make, not because they were revealed, but because they understand the damage that it's caused. In addition, they learn from such mistakes and use the point of repentance as a building block in the transformation of character.


2 CORINTHIANS 7:10 (NLT)
“For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.”

MATTHEW 3:8 (NLT)
“Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.”