Mostly What I Need From You

By Alli Rogers • Jul 17th, 2008 • Category: Artists in Residence

One of the most scrutinized characteristics in a political candidate is consistency. What does their voting record show? Have they ever contradicted themselves? I have to admit, this sort of quest to find the perfectly invariable presidential candidate makes me a little crazy. Personally, I would rather vote for someone who has the humility to evolve in their thinking and admit it. We all learn and grow and change our minds. Acknowledging mistakes is the first step to humility, and that is a trait I hold much higher than consistency.

I recently saw a great uncle of mine at a wedding and he chuckled over “how fast us kids grow”. He went on to recount one of my track meets he attended and started laughing as he recalled me falling after the second hurdle. I nodded and sighed, and he made to sure remind me how I just stood up and finished the race, probably last, but I finished.

At first I thought it was odd that he decided to bring up that sort of “failure” from my track days, was he trying to embarrass me? Remind me of my shortcomings? No, I realized later, he was reminding me that I finished.

I wish we gave our leaders the same grace my Uncle Bob gave me.

Leaders have been made into celebrities, as Derek Webb puts it. And Lord knows, celebrities get zero grace from the general public. The expectation to appear flawless robs them of a chance to admit when they are wrong.

I’m not saying our leaders (politicians, pastors, etc.) should just strive to “finish the race”, and I’m not encouraging erratic choices. I’m just pointing out that in a day when authenticity seems to be a coveted attribute, we should be eager to extend grace without expecting perfection. I think that is the only way to give things like honesty and integrity room to breath. In the words of the great philosopher, Billy Joel, “Honesty is such a lonely word, everyone is so untrue, honesty is hardly ever heard, but mostly what I need from you”.

↓ One comment

#1 Brian on July 18th, 2008 at 4:27 am

Thank you for sharing this perspective, Alli. Indeed, presidential elections and everything that surrounds them seem to be completely insane most of the time. Your comment about expectations of flawlessness robbing people of the chance to admit when they’re wrong made me really stop and consider that fact. It’s so true!

The notion that we should be eager to extend grace without expecting perfection is one of the truest statements I have heard somebody make. Imagine what the world would look like if more of us (not just Christians) took that thought to heart?

Does it Resonate with you?

Name (required)

Email (will not be published) (required)

URL