Not Running with the Bulls
Theme of the Week: Dealing with My Defects
Hugh Hewitt
Saturday, May 1, 2004
 1 of 1
Q. How can I shed my vices and manage my flaws?
A.Two things. First, find new habits. Substitute a positive habit for a negative one.
George W. Bush drank too much. He stopped. He would not be president if he hadn't stopped. A high-ranking academic stored pornography on his computer. It was discovered when he asked the university to expand the storage of his machine. He was obliged to resign. His flaws crushed his career.
Every successful person you admire has huge flaws. The folks who rise to the top and stay there ruthlessly study themselves and bring their flaws under control.
Doing this used to be easier. Prior to 1965, the riskiest vice was booze, and even then the world made room for talented drunks. Powerful men who cheated on their wives could also count on winks and nods. But as the American scandal machine destroyed privacy, temptations also grew. The drugs in circulation, the internet porn industry, the disconnecting of sex from morality—all added a million opportunities for misdeeds.
Younger people seem to believe that they get a pass until they're 30 or married, whichever comes first. Others —like the Enron superstars, renowned for partying harder than anyone else, even revel in excess. This is stupid. Getting hammered is for fools. So, too, is running with the bulls in Pamplona. So, too, is hooking up with strangers.
Also, cut off any friend who revels in the very behaviors that are bound to diminish your rise. Resolve to choose better friends.
Hugh Hewitt, a talk show host, is the author of In, But Not Of
Adapted from In, But Not Of (Nelson, 2003) by permission.
Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click
for reprint information.
1 of 1
 share this page
Lord, I keep facing defeat in one area of my life. Please empower me to win over it.
Men of Integrity
Connect with God | Transform my Mind | Live by His Power
Relate Better | Make an Impact
Home | Archives | Contact Us
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Try an Issue of Men of Integrity
Free!
|
 |
|
No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders.
If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless.
Give Men of Integrity as a gift
Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
| 
RSS Feed
