Loose Lips Sink Ships!
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” – Acts 8:33 from Isaiah 53:7,8
This past week I’ve had two occasions to be reminded of an important principle: “Loose lips sink ships.”
The history of this phrase dates back to WWII, coined by the U.S. Office of War Information in an effort to limit the possibility of people inadvertently giving useful information to enemy spies. Conventional wisdom tells us that we should speak publicly about people the way we would want people to speak about us.
The latest sad example of this principle’s violation is the saga of Bill Stewart, the recently dismissed Head Football Coach at my alma mater, West Virginia University. “Coach Stew” was being moved on from his post and given an option to stay on for another year and mentor a replacement or just leave quietly.
He chose to stay on for another year. But quietly he was orchestrating a smear campaign against his successor, trying to enlist members of the media in researching skeletons in his new Offensive Coordinators closet. It was apparently uncovered that he or his wife were the anonymous second source in a recent article detailing the misdeeds of his perceived vocational enemy.
So, now he leaves very loudly and on bad terms, sadly destroying what had previously been a reputation of being a nice guy.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:12, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
He also said in Matthew 5:43-46, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”
When you’re angry with someone because they’ve spoken evil about you, or when you’ve been slandered, it’s difficult not to want to respond by speaking evil about them in return. “What about my reputation, my interests? I need to defend them don’t I?” This is a legitimate question and the answer could be, “Yes, if you can do so without resorting to factual distortion, slander, malice or anything that would dishonor Christ.” It also could be, “No, keep your mouth shut and let God’s providence work this out.” (see Romans 12:19 – “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.”)
As difficult as this is to do, Jesus practiced what he preached by not defending himself against false charges. He refused to be dragged down into the muck. Yes, he suffered a great injustice, but he knew that in the end our Sovereign God and Father would redeem and restore and bring glory to Himself through the way Jesus conducted himself in the process.
My favorite TV show is “American Chopper: Sr. vs. Jr.” It’s actually a sad tale of a father-son relationship gone awry. Paul Teutel Sr. started Orange County Choppers with his son, Paul Jr. A series of rifts led to the elder firing the younger and then suing him. Obviously, this put a kink in the relationship. The television show captured all of the family tension and millions of viewers watched in horror as a father repeatedly spoke critically and maliciously about his son on television. Week after week, Paul Sr. ridiculed his son’s efforts to make it on his own and boasted of OCC’s superiority. Every chance that the father had to take a swipe at his son, he did so.
Paul Jr. never took the bait. You could see the pain in his face, he spoke frequently and openly about how difficult it was, but he never resorted to maligning his father’s work, success, or the business that the two of them built together. He applied an important principle and kept his lips closed. I’m sure he and his lovely wife wept together and prayed together (they’re Christian believers), and there most certainly had to be days when he vented his frustration to his best friend.
But never in front of others and certainly never on camera.
This past week Jr. got his vindication. The Cadillac Company had a contest between the two motorcycle companies to see who could build the better chopper. The fans voted. Jr. got 234,000 votes to Sr.’s 6,000. More striking than the 97.5% to 2.5% victory were the public comments about the series. Fan after fan posted online about how awfully the father had treated the son and how classy Jr. was for never taking the low road.
In an additional piece of good news, it looks like the lawsuit is coming to an end and that Jr. is going to get a fair settlement price. It is good to see an example of how to do something well. Thanks for your example, Paul Teutel, Jr.
I believe God allows us to see these things in others to encourage you and I to remain vigilant to the commands of Jesus and avoid responding to the haters. By loving them (if only by not saying something bad about them), in time others will see things as they truly are. In the meantime, we have to believe that come this life or the next, God’s grace his been extended to us so much that we’re compelled to treat others accordingly.