Inaugural Thoughts

It is a time for inaugural thoughts. A New Year has begun (officially the first of a new millennium), and a new semester along with it. You are back! And those of us who never left are glad! It's always far too quiet when you're not around. And the new bookstore is open. Isn't it great? Yesterday's paper quotes a prominent local resident professing "There is not a more beautiful bookstore in the whole United States." And the new coffee shop is open. That may be even better! New classrooms, some new faculty offices, even new studios for WGRN! There is a new "black room" too.

I find it a wonderful time to be at Greenville College and I hope you do too. But we also have a new national president. And my remarks to you today build on his inaugural thoughts. Now you might say "That's odd!" or even "That's a relief!" Because you know I always seem to talk about the same thing when I speak in chapel; character and paradox. But the beauty of President Bush's inaugural address was that it was all about character and paradox too. Though it won't rival the Gettysburg Address, it will perhaps become known as the "Four Cs" speech and I hope you had opportunity to hear it. It is a clarion call for character; both for its own sake and in direct service to community.

President Bush understood what Plato said long ago; that there is a correlation between a republic of character and individual citizens of character. So to understand and even shape the one, we must understand and shape the other. Surely that applies to us at Greenville College too. As Bush put it, "Sometimes our differences run so deep it seems we share a continent not a country."

On occasion we may suppose here that our differences run so deep it seems we share a campus not a college. But in our president's words, "We must turn the hearts of our children toward knowledge and character." With due apologies for the reference to children-he might have said "young people"-surely this is the mission of Greenville College, a mission of knowledge and character.

The president's four "c's" were character, civility, compassion, and courage. Character, I believe, is the overarching concept, and civility, compassion, and courage are among its constituent virtues. I would like to comment briefly on each virtue in turn.

Civility
Civility is a word rarely used and little understood. What is more, it seems to be more and more lacking in day-to-day exchanges. Yet it may be the virtue central to working together in community. Oh of course I don't mean we snarl at each other when we pass in the hallways. We are generally polite, and politeness is a starting point. But it often does not extend past the simplest formalities. When we begin to disagree, the politeness ends, and our lack of civility shows through. The paradox of civility is that it calls us to disagree without personal attack.

Whenever we disagree, it seems we always leap to assume the worst about the other person. I taught logic for 15 years and a common form of incivility is called ad hominen argument. "Disregard what Christians say about honesty, they're all hypocrites." "Ignore Clinton's on morality, he was unfaithful." "What could Aristotle tell us about love, he was a homosexual." And we don't even have to say it. If we think it we are uncivil. "Why should I listen? They're over 30…or they're a football player, or they're 'goody goodies.'" "Who are they to say that, they don't have black skin." Or the one that gets me, "How can you do that or think that and be a Christian?"

I remember as a young faculty member at Westmont College, being called into the President's office for stirring up trouble complaining around campus about all the things he was doing so poorly. It wasn't that I should not have been critical, or working for change, but I attributed the problems to him personally. I will never forget him looking at me and saying, "The trouble with you Jim, is that you assume all administrators are either evil or incompetent." In short, I was making my criticisms of issues on campus a personal attack on him. He was right. People can and should disagree without assuming the worst about one another's abilities or motives. Amazingly, David Winter remains a close friend of mine today.

The heart of civility is attitude, not just behavior. We can behave politely and be uncivil. In Bush's words, civility is "not a tactic or sentiment, but a determined choice of trust over cynicism." This is not an easy task. But consider that if we cannot learn to be civil in a liberal arts academic environment, where intellectual challenge and disagreement is our hallmark, then how do we expect to learn it in a culture filled with angry litigious individuals looking out only for number one and eager to gain at others' expense?

So let me urge you to embrace the paradox; to disagree, openly, pointedly, unapologetically, forcefully. But with our new president, let me urge you, starting today, to assume the best about one another; to disagree with passion but without anger, with conviction but without attack. The fruit will be not only a gain of personal character, but a community of character as well.

Compassion
Unlike civility, compassion is a word often used, yet also little understood. It is tempting to think that the virtue of compassion means to feel sorry for others. Or in more noble forms, it may mean to reach out and help others. The danger is to suppose that like civility it is either just a sentiment or a tactic. But it is more. Compassion is to care for others without patronizing them.

This past week I had lunch with a prominent local businessman. He reported that in his business, without intending to eavesdrop, he often overhears the conversation of Greenville College students. He loves the college and loves our students. Yet he is surprised how often the conversation turns to ways in which the poor unsophisticated Greenville community needs Greenville College students. The intention is good but the effect is not compassion, it is pity. And pity is a sentiment often born of the need to feel superior; a sentiment that may result in behavior that appears helpful but puts others in our debt. It makes us their self-righteous patrons.

The heart of compassion, like civility, is more than behavior or sentiment; it is attitude. Compassion is to feel with others, not just feel sorry for them. Consider those around you in chapel today; those in need. They are new transfer students this month, they are from other cultures or subcultures, or they are struggling academically, not sure they should be back in school. Do you help them or do you patronize them? Do you feel for them or with them? As Bush put it, compassion is "good will, respect, fair dealing, and forgiveness." The virtue of compassion is surely a calling of our community.

Courage
To be civil or to be compassionate often requires courage. When was the last time you showed courage? From Mel Gibson or Arnold Schwarznegger, we are tempted to suppose courage is the strength to stand without fear in the face of overwhelming odds. But that is doubly wrong. Wearing the "No Fear" logo is no badge of courage, because like the other virtues, this one too is paradoxical. Courage is the strength to choose in spite of fear. In fact, without fear, there can be no courage. And neither is courage always just to stand firm.

In the face of overwhelming odds, the courageous choice, as Aristotle was quick to point out, may very well be to flee. Mel Gibson never seems to grasp this and proves over and over that some people confuse insanity with courage. Or for example, have you ever had the courage to walk away? For example, from temptation under peer pressure? Have you ever had the courage to change your mind? So courage again is not a particular behavior. It is an attitude that constitutes part of our character, and out of which flow different behaviors in different circumstances.

I am not particularly courageous. My wife, and some of you are. I have on occasion found the courage to admit I am wrong. On other occasions, I have found the courage to speak to someone about Christ. I remember once even screwing up the courage to ask my father about sexual temptation. But compared to many of you I suspect I'm a wimp in this department.

Consider the ways in which the attitude of courage can reveal itself in your life. First, courage can produce behavior: trying a difficult course that intimidates you, disagreeing with others in class debate, reaching out to someone who is hurting, or reaching out for help when you are tempted or lonely.

Second, courage may also produce belief: the theologian Paul Tillich taught me that faith itself is the courage to be and to believe in spite of the fear of being wrong, of being deluded, or even of death itself. Without doubt there can be no faith, just as without fear there can be no courage.

Finally, courage may produce feelings: hope in the face of gloom or even discouragement. It is an overcast day today and your hearts may be heavy. Pleasant memories of the holidays overshadowed by the prospects of a semester of hard work. Have courage, it brings hope.

Conclusion
Each of these three paradoxical virtues of character-civility, compassion, and courage-requires personal responsibility. They require a commitment on our part to want to become persons of character. The path is not glamorous. President Bush reminded us that it is filled with "uncounted, unhonored acts of decency." He went on to say, "Sometimes in life we are called to do great things. But…every day we are called to do small things with great love."

Does this calling to character seem a heavy one? Does the personal responsibility overwhelm you? As Christians we have resources beyond ourselves to embrace these paradoxical challenges of character. Our resource is in Christ who gives us character as we are transformed into his image. Even Bush remarked, "We are not this story's author, who fills time and eternity with His purpose."

As I said when I spoke to you in early December, the challenge of Romans 12:1-2 may be to "be transformed by the renewing of your minds." But the release from that burden in 2 Corinthians 3:18 is that, "We, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

Let us pray.