EDITORIAL: ‘Best person available’ has character

Posted: 7/21/06

EDITORIAL:
'Best person available’ has character

Most Texans, as well as football fans everywhere, remember with fondness the formative years of the Dallas Cowboys, when they developed their persona as America’s Team. (OK, not “football fans everywhere.” Redskins and Eagles fans remember this with fear and trembling.) In those days, Tom Landry and Tex Schramm presided over the Cowboys. One simple principle prompted their gridiron greatness: Draft the best athlete available.

They might have had four terrific offensive linemen, but if the best player on the board was an offensive lineman, they drafted an offensive lineman. They needed a good defensive back, so they drafted the best athlete available—a basketball player who became an All-Pro defensive back. Their team’s victories validated their theory.

The Cowboys’ “best athlete available” principle often comes to mind. No, I’m not bucking for a front-office job with an NFL franchise. But I read papers, watch the news, and listen to people all over Texas and beyond. And whether it’s sports franchises, businesses, civic organizations or churches, the fine line between success and failure consistently parallels this principle. When the successful enterprises add new people, especially leaders, they select the best person available. To the contrary, those that are unsuccessful seem either (a) bound and determined to fill a particular slot a particular way or (b) distracted by superficial qualities that ultimately do not contribute to success.

We could discuss the infinite number of qualities that might define the “best person available” until Jesus comes back. But let me nominate one—character.

Just the other day, a friend and I discussed his business. He’s the kind of guy you value as a friend. He’s caring, outgoing, generous, loyal and funny. He’s got the kind of business you wish you had invested in years ago. Most of all, he’s the kind of Christian you want to be like. He’s faithful to Christ, and he understands that what his pastor preaches in worship and what he and his friends discuss in Bible study matter every day of the week. His faith informs how he treats his employees and customers, and it shapes the decisions he and his partners make as they think about strategies and opportunities for their company, clients and families.

My friend isn’t afraid to search his soul. As we talked about his employees, he acknowledged he had made some mistakes. Business boomed, and they hired rapidly. But “we lost focus,” he said. In their haste, they looked at the business backgrounds of some of their new employees, but they failed to look at the kind of people they were. So, when the talented newcomers began to make decisions and deals that didn’t reflect the values of the partners, painful changes had to be made. I asked my friend what he learned, which I knew he already knew. “Character counts,” he replied without hesitation. “It’s essential. You can’t get away from it.”

Character counts. We know this, but how easily we forget. Enron and WorldComm seem like clichés for appalling hubris and moral failure. Still, we can be certain that, somewhere out there, talented-but-greedy business people are making decisions based solely on dollars and not on decency.

Unfortunately, integrity meltdowns extend beyond business. A recent Washington Post article described how Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition, lost a commanding lead in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor of Georgia because his association with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff cast a dark shadow across his campaign. Of course, political scandal is a bipartisan affair. That same article described how Republicans and Democrats alike stand to lose key seats in Congress because their current occupants have failed the character test.

Don’t you wish dishonor were confined only to business tycoons and politicians? Sadly, that’s not the case. The reputations of the church and—worse yet—our Lord Jesus have been stained by dishonorable Christians whose misdeeds undermined their pious words. Conversely, rock-solid integrity has earned many a Christian’s right to speak words of faith and hope to a previously disbelieving audience.

One of the Bible’s greatest stories illustrates the honor of Joseph. His master’s wife tried to seduce him, and they might have gotten away with adultery. Instead, Joseph resisted and unfairly was convicted of rape and thrown in prison. Short-term, things looked bad. Long-term, prisoner Joseph interpreted the dream of Pharaoh, became second-in-command of the nation and saved both Egypt and the Children of Israel from famine. Character counts. God used a person of integrity to perpetuate the family line that eventually birthed Jesus, the Messiah. God rewarded Joseph for his honor, but through that reward, God came to bless the whole world.

When the time comes to choose—or become—the “best person available,” think about one quality. Character.

Marv Knox is editor of the Baptist Standard.