PAINFUL LESSON
Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte is in a world of hurt. One expert estimates he will lose between $5 million and $10 million in endorsement money. Most people will not earn that much money in their entire lifetime. How did he get into such a mess? He lied and did not take responsibility for his actions.
This is not a new story. In fact, there was a very similar one a few thousand years ago. Moses was returning from Mount Sinai having just received the Ten Commandments from God. He came upon a wild party scene of dancing and singing with a golden idol as the cynosure. He asked his brother Aaron (whom he had left in charge while he was gone) what had happened. Aaron told him, “I asked them to bring me their gold earrings. They took them off and they gave them to me. I threw the gold into the fire and out came this bull.” (Exodus 32:24) Well, out came the bull but it wasn’t the idol.
Aaron actually tried to sell Moses on the idea that he had nothing to do with creating an idol. It is worth noting one of the Ten Commandments is “Do not make idols of anything.” Earlier in the same chapter of the Bible we are told Aaron took a tool and formed the idol out of the molten gold that the people had given him. Why would he lie and deceive his own brother, the leader of the entire nation? He lied because he messed up and he didn’t want to own up to it. He didn’t want to take responsibility for his actions.
Being honest with yourself is the first choice for personal happiness. Aaron knew what he did but he could not bring himself to admit it to his own brother. Lochte knew what he had done but telling the truth was just too hard for him to do. Both ended up regretting not doing the hard task of truth-telling.
Philosophers and theologians talk about existential responsibility. They mean each person is responsible for his entire existence. To be existentially responsible means you don’t carve out a section in your life and say: I’m responsible for this, but I’m not necessarily responsible for that. You’re responsible for everything in your life: the way your life has been and the way your life will be. Lochte has obviously been very responsible in his athletic training leading to great success. He needed to be responsible about this latest incident as well.
The reality is we all have issues with responsibility. Everyone lies — it is simply a matter if your lie is exposed and the level of the exposure. Your lie may never be revealed or it may cost you your job, your marriage, your integrity. The challenge is to avoid rationalizing away the choices that you’ve made. You must stop the excuses, the justifications and the denial. Simply take responsibility and tell the truth.
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