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THE BRIGHT LIGHTS ON BROADWAY #2
HOLY AMBITION
It was one of the absolutely SADDEST stories of the
year; maybe you remember it. Back in 1996, Jeremy Michael Boorda was one
of the most popular and effective men in the U.S. Navy. He was the only
enlisted man to ever become a CNO — Chief of Naval Operations — and he
had actually headed the NATO forces during the early parts of the Bosnia
civil war. Military people called him “the people’s admiral.” All the
enlisted men, since he was one of them, felt like here was a commander
who really cared about them.
Of course, any man or woman who makes their way through the ranks and
gets to that distinguished level, has a lot of gold braid and brass and
ribbons on their uniform. And he did too. Among them was the Combat V
pin; Boorda had two of them, which were attached to his Vietnam War medals.
(The “V” standing for valor.) The only problem was this: the Combat V
was only supposed to be worn, according to Navy regs, if the award was
given “(quote) for acts or services involving direct participation in
combat operations.” And it wasn’t clear that Boorda actually qualified.
Back in ‘95, he had taken them off when the question came up in a military
investigation.
But now in May of ‘96, he heard that Newsweek magazine was digging into
the story. Had he, a high-ranking CNO, been improperly wearing decorations
he wasn’t entitled to? For someone that high in the Navy, the resulting
scandal would be a rather shameful thing. “A major embarrassment,” said
Roger Charles, the Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who first discovered
the mistake.
Well, if you recall the headlines, it all ended in horrible tragedy. Because
Jeremy Michael Boorda, age 57, when he heard about Newsweek, left work,
drove home, and shot himself in the chest with his son-in-law’s .38-caliber
pistol. Was the suicide over just two combat pins . . . or was there more?
We’ll never know.
And you know, here these several years later, who are any of the rest
of us to wonder aloud? It’s a sad, sad story. Two little combat medals.
But the shame of even PERHAPS wearing them inappropriately, of claiming
a power that wasn’t yours to claim, was enough to cause this husband and
father of four children to turn that gun on himself.
Obviously, there is a time and a place and a circumstance under which
a man or woman would openly and rightly wear the Combat V medals. If you’ve
earned it according to the regulations established in 1965 when Boorda
received the first of his Vietnam medals (without the Combat V pin), then
you would wear it with appropriate pride.
We mentioned yesterday that the Bible teaches – about power and position
— that these things aren’t necessarily bad. Jesus Himself was the ordained
“Master” of the 12 disciples. He led; they followed. Combat ribbons are
good things. Navy promotions are good things. In my Adventist denomination,
we were all quietly proud when, back in 1999, our own Rear Admiral Barry
Black, one of the top-ranking chaplains in the Navy, was called on to
help serve at the burial-at-sea service for John F. Kennedy, Jr. These
honors and positions bring with them a certain power and authority. And
friend, power is not a wicked thing.
You’ve heard the expression by Lord Acton, “Power corrupts . . . and absolute
power corrupts absolutely.” Totally true, but we noticed this P.S. from
a marvelous book, Kingdoms in Conflict, written by Watergate co-conspirator
and Nixon White House big-shot Chuck Colson (more about him later):
“It is crucial to note,” he writes, “that it is power that corrupts,
not power that IS corrupt. It is like electricity. When properly handled,
electricity provides light and energy; when mishandled it destroys. God
has given power to the state to be used to restrain evil and maintain
order. It is the USE of power, whether for personal gain or for the state’s
ordained function, that is at issue.”
And really, the Word of God corroborates this principle time and time
again . . . in the great old STORIES we all know and love. How about Joseph
— who abruptly became Prime Minister of all Egypt? He was the #2 man in
the vast empire of the then-known world. Moses — first an Egyptian ruler,
the Pharaoh-to-be, then the leader of the entire nation of Israel, numbering
in the millions. Daniel — promoted AS A PRISONER to the position of Prime
Minister in the empire of Medo-Persia. The list goes on and on, and you
can study the question of MOTIVE every single time as the crucial variable.
There’s a marvelous little Q & A scrap of an interview going back
to the year 1944, taking place between the Christian apologist C. S. Lewis
and a forum called the “One Man Brains Trust,” held in Middlesex, England.
Of course, World War II was going on right then, so Bible principles were
quite naturally answered with military themes. Notice:
“Question: Is it wrong for a Christian to be ambitious and strive for
personal success?”
That’s exactly our topic this week. And here’s what Professor Lewis
said in his reply:
“Ambition! We must be careful what we mean by it. If it means the desire
to get ahead of other people — which is what I think it does mean — then
it is bad. If it means simply wanting to do a thing well, then it is good.
It isn’t wrong for an actor to want to act his part as well as it can
possibly be acted, but the wish to have his name in bigger type than the
other actors is a bad one.”
Do you sense the distinction so far? Pretty good, isn’t it? Excellence
is good. Devotion to realizing your full potential is good. Being the
best actor you can be – fine. Go for it. But do you want your name in
bigger type than the others in the movie with you? And now, how about
the military aspect? Here’s the next question in the interview:
“It’s all right to be a general, but if it is one’s AMBITION to be a
General, then you shouldn’t become one”?
We mentioned yesterday the drive, the overwhelming AMBITION it takes
to become the President of the United States. Is that powerful force urging
you on a bad thing? Here’s the very astute reply:
“The mere event of becoming a General isn’t either right or wrong in
itself. What matters morally is your ATTITUDE towards it. The man may
be thinking about winning a war; he may be wanting to be a General because
he honestly thinks he has a good plan and is glad of a chance to carry
it out. That’s all right. But if he is thinking: ‘What can I get out of
the job?’ or ‘How can I get on the front page of the Illustrated News?’
then it is all wrong.”
What do you think of that? A man or woman surveys the carnage of a war
out there. People are dying; innocent victims are losing their homes and
their loved ones. And this onlooker from the sidelines says to themselves,
“I see it! If we did this and that and the other thing . . . we could
END this heartache! I can see where the tanks should go, how the allied
forces should expend their resources. I think I have a plan. I think I
have the skills to pull together that NATO coalition.” And as that person
sees the global view, they come to realize this: only the GENERAL can
make those sweeping changes, bring reality out of the dreams. Only the
supreme commander can marshal the troops and smite the enemy and release
the prisoners and comfort the brokenhearted.
So . . . that person RUNS for general. Or seeks the job, or goes through
the process of advancement. Employing – shall we say it? – AMBITION! If
they have to fill out forms, they fill them out. If they have to win medals,
they win them. If they have to go to banquets and dinners and kiss babies
. . . well, maybe they do those things. But all the while, their eyes
are on that battlefield where the blood is still flowing. And they campaign
for the job BECAUSE they want to do good in the world.
Friend, it’s the same with all other power trips. Back in Old Testament
times, back in Genesis chapter 41, Joseph didn’t seek the Prime Minister-ship.
It sought him. Actually, God opened up all the doors and cleared the hurdles
out of the way. But Joseph ACCEPTED the job because seven years of famine
were on the way. And he had a plan to avert mass starvation.
I recall an inauguration line that President George Bush — the DAD George
Bush — used back in early 1989 after a long couple of years of SEEKING
power. Vice President Bush WANTED to inherit the reins of power, of influence,
of White House authority from his former boss, President Reagan. And when
he stepped to the podium on that cold January afternoon, he made an eight-word
proclamation that was entirely biblical. “I want to use POWER,” he boldly
said, “to HELP people.” That’s it. “Use power to help people.”
And as we look at the political career of the Candidate from Nazareth,
who kissed a lot of babies in His day too, it appears that Bush might
have actually BORROWED that line.
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