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I’m Sorry, I Don’t Care for that Sorry.

The Veterans Affairs Secretary is in hot water and all the while he is instructing us about glory and repentance.

VA Secretary, Robert McDonald has apologized for lying about his service in the special forces. He recently was serving food to a homeless man in Los Angeles when he told the man that he also served in the special forces. The cameras were rolling and caught the exchange. The news did some digging and found out that he never actually served in this capacity.

As a result, Secretary McDonald issued a statement where he stopped short of the issue while tipping his cap to his “error.” He said, “I incorrectly stated that I had been in special forces. That was inaccurate and I apologize to anyone that was offended by my misstatement…I have great respect for those who have served our nation in special forces.”

Inaccurate and misstatement are political, face-saving ways of saying “I lied.” We often like to airbrush our actions with more palatable and familiar terms that are less condemning. Further, he limits his apology to “anyone that was offended by my misstatement”. This also blunts the impact of having to own the statement and its impact. Truly, as a representative of our country and the VA in particular, this “inaccurate” statement impacts many people, not simply the vociferous group that are holding his feet to the fire.

As Christians we are reminded of David’s confession after his sin:

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” (Psalm 51:3-4)

Our sin is horizontal (it effects other people) but it is primarily vertical–it is against God. Further, sin is not simply a misstatement or a slip up; the Bible calls sin (like lying) evil. The wages of which are death (Rom. 6:23). This is helpful for us in thinking about how we apologize for, confess, or repent of sin. We as Christians should be sure that we are not in the business of recasting, relabeling or otherwise airbrushing sin to be more acceptable. Sin is sin. It has biblical names. Let’s use them.

There is one other interesting note in this story. Why did he say this? What is there to gain? This guy has ascended to a very high office in the government. He is famous. He is in charge. Why did he do this? One word: glory. As people we are preoccupied with our significance. We grab things to make us feel more significant and we say things to make others think we are more significant. We are glory hounds. It is a reflex of our fallen nature to say things that make us look better.

My take here is that the Secretary greatly respects the special forces and he said this, perhaps even without thinking, to make himself look better. Let’s remember, he did this as the secretary of the VA while talking to a homeless man. In other words, he has glory and this guy’s opinion, at the end of the day, isn’t going to help him sleep any better. He just said it because he wanted to hear it. He wanted significance.

I find it interesting that this story comes out so soon after the Brian Williams stories where the news anchor reportedly fabricated the accounts of his peril while covering the news in Iraq. People get very upset with Williams and McDonald, as if we don’t do this very thing. Whether we are exaggerating events to make ourselves sound better or editing details to make us look better, we do the same thing. It’s not right, of course, but it is a part of our lives as fallen creatures. We are haunted by our inadequacies and our quest for something more.

I’m not surprised by McDonald’s statement. I understand it. I also sympathize with him. I see where it comes from and know why. I’ve seen it in my own life, even as a Christian. Whether public or private these things drive us back again to the gospel. Christ’s work in the gospel liberates believers. We don’t stand upon our merits but upon Christ’s. It is his perfect record of obedience, his exaltation, his honor, his glory, and his kingdom that we cling to. Instead of working from our own inadequacies and pridefully craving personal glory, Christians are to be people who realize their inadequacies and selflessly pursue Christ’s glory. Once again Christ liberates people from the bondage of sin to serve him (Rom. 6:19).

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