Character Matters Part IV, Faithfulness

            Sometime in February of 1981, a serious-sounding Officer told me to, “Raise your right hand and repeat after me, ‘I, Matthew E. Robinson, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I will obey the lawful orders of the President of the United States and the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, so help me God.’” I’d like to say that I fully understood what I was saying, but that would not be correct. The first time I took the oath, it was just something that I did as part of joining the Army, one more step amid an ocean of paperwork required to become a soldier. I did not clearly think through the import of those words and how they would affect a change in my life. As the years passed and I spoke those words again, as one that took the oath and more frequently as one who administered the oath, I better understood their gravity. Deployments, sacrifice, long hours, and eventually combat operations would solidify the place of those in my heart and soul. I often think of them and how they helped shape how I think, what is important to me, and the man that I’ve become. Among the words is this phrase, “…I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same…”

            When we consider a candidate for high public office, we must weigh their ability to “bear true faith.” In Psalm 16, David discusses the character traits of a man that would enjoy fellowship with the Lord. He lays out what a righteous man looks like and in the second half of verse four we read these words, “…who swears to his own hurt and does not change;…” Who swears to his own hurt and does not change. When life is easy, my wife and family in good health, the road before me smooth, and there is plenty of coin in my purse it is easy to be faithful. But, let misfortune touch me or the road grow potholed and then you may more truly weigh my faithfulness. As a soldier, my faithfulness was not measured on payday, or when I was on leave. My faithfulness was measured during the tough times of lengthy field exercises, the long hours of preparation for inspections, and the hazards of operational deployment. Therefore, we look carefully at a candidate’s previous life. How they handle adversity opens a window into their soul, letting us observe the strength of their faithfulness.

            When the way grows rough, we see a person’s faithfulness. Will they live up to their wedding vows? Of course, the dissolution of a marriage does not disqualify; however, if a person cycles through marriages, discarding inconvenient spouses, we may reasonably question the strength of their faithfulness. Does a businessperson build strong businesses? Do they live up to their word? A man or woman that leaves behind them a wreckage of unfulfilled obligations and courtroom wrangling may very well have issues with faithfulness. That is why we give scrutinize an aspirant’s previous life. Their willingness to live up to their word, even during difficult times, indicates what they will do under pressure or during times of crisis.

            Will they fulfill national obligations that they find personally inconvenient? Will they honor a difficult treaty? Will they absorb a short-term personal loss for a long-term national gain? Will they support a policy that helps many at the expense of a well-connected few? These and other similar questions find their answers in a candidate’s faithfulness. Faithfulness in previous activities indicates a candidate’s ability to see tough things through. Faithfulness also tells us much about their trustworthiness, a critical component of international relations and negotiations. So, we must carefully weigh an aspirant’s faithfulness when considering them. A candidate that displays a lack of faithfulness in personal and professional relationships will not well serve the public in high office. Their predilection for abandoning nettlesome relations and responsibilities will lead to a chaotic discharge of their duties. Far from being a small issue, faithfulness, in public and private, looms large as a fitness indicator, an inability to hold true faith and allegiance should disqualify an individual from consideration.