Applauding Good Character

The Bible talks about the fruit we produce (and I'll be posting much more on this topic in the next couple of weeks) and that we either produce good fruit or bad fruit.

Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. -- Matthew 7:17

I wrote about Lebron James a few days back and how he maybe hasn't been producing the best fruit lately, so I wanted to share a couple of stories that illustrate the production of good fruit, or good character.

Oguchi Onyewu is a defender who plays for the USA soccer team. He also signed a contract last year to play for one of the best pro club teams in the world, AC Milan. Shortly after signing his contract, he ruptured his achilles tendon. He's been recovering and will be able to play for his country in the World Cup next month. Yesterday he did something that is unprecedented among professional athletes. He told AC Milan that he wanted to extend his contract for another year...without pay. He doesn't feel that it's right that he hasn't fulfilled his contract because of his injury and wants to show his loyalty to the club for their support. I can only hope that the young kids who look up to him will take a lesson from him and practice that kind of character as they grow into adults.

Morgan Woolard represented Oklahoma in the Miss USA pageant over the weekend. She was in second place and in good standing with only the Q&A portion of the contest remaining when she was asked about her feelings regarding the highly controversial Arizona immigration law. She responded with the following:

"I'm a huge believer in states' rights. I think that's what's so wonderful about America, so I think it's perfectly fine for Arizona to create that law."

She finished second and the girl who had been the last of the final five won. Asked if she regrets her answer, she said:

“I was absolutely ready for the question and truthfully for me, it wasn't tough. I believe if you know who you are and what you believe and why you believe it, then no question can stump you. I was confident in my answer, there was no hesitation, and I just spoke from my heart and I believe what I said was well said and I feel strongly about that and I'm proud of my answer.”

Whether you agree with her stance or not, you have to respect someone in the national spotlight who stands for what they believe in and don't cave under pressure to change.

I applaud both of these young people for going against the grain and for showing good character. While our one true role model is Jesus, I believe that displaying that kind of character produces the good fruit the verse in Matthew talked about and I challenge all the rest of us to follow their lead.