Global Integrity14

Positive Psychology and Integrity

Moral wholeness for a whole world

Integrity is moral wholeness—living consistently in moral wholeness. Its opposite is corruption, the distortion, perversion, and deterioration of moral goodness, resulting in the exploitation of people. Global integrity is moral wholeness at all levels in our world—from the individual to the institutional to the international. Global integrity is requisite for “building the future we want—being the people we need.” It is not easy, it is not always black and white, and it can be risky. These entries explore the many facets of integrity with a view towards the global efforts to promote sustainable development and wellbeing.

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Positive Psychology is a relatively new field of psychology that has been rapidly growing over the past two decades. It focuses on the positive aspects of human personality (e.g., character strengths, virtue, and the heroic), personal fulfillment, and overall wellbeing. More recently it has been extending beyond the individual focus to also include social and community wellbeing. 

One of the most popular websites related to positive psychology is Authentic Happiness. This website includes a number of questionnaires which one can take online for free, after a short registration. One of the most popular questionnaires in the VIA Survey of Character Strengths. This survey looks at 24 character strengths (organized In terms of six broad virtues: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance and transcendence).

Where is integrity in the VIA Survey? The character strength of honesty is the closest equivalent to integrity. “Honesty [authenticity, integrity]: Speaking the truth but more broadly presenting oneself in a genuine way and acting in a sincere way; being without pretense; taking responsibility for one’s feelings and actions.” (https://www.viacharacter.org/www/Portals/0/Classification%202014.pdf).

Integrity as we define it though in these weblog entries, is considerably different. It is not simply “presenting oneself in a genuine way and acting in a sincere way” but rather endeavoring to live your life in a consistently moral way. Integrity in our view is a core, unifying characteristic of healthy (positive) human personality, functioning, and wellbeing. It is not a third level descriptor (i.e. 1. Virtues, 2. Character Strengths, 3. Descriptors). Arguably though, some aspects of integrity are embedded implicitly in other Character Strengths, such as Bravery and Perseverance.

Applications

--Go on the Authentic Happiness website and take the Character Strengths survey. What are your strengths? How do you rate in the strength of honesty?

----How might integrity be embedded implicitly in other aspect of the 24 Character Strengths?

(see descriptions HERE)

--See also: Entwistle, D. N., & Moroney, Stephen K. (2011). Integrative perspectives on human flourishing: The imago Dei and positive psychology. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 39(4), 295-303. (article overview HERE)

Loving Truth and Peace—1

LTP

  וְהָאֱמֶת וְהַשָּׁלוֹם, אֱהָבוּ

Truth and peace are two core parts of healthy relationships. They are both sources and signs of relational health. Said another way, healthy relationships thrive on consistently speaking the truth peacefully and living in peace truthfully. 

This new set of entries brings together the previous entries on living in truth (15) and living in peace (15): loving truth and peace (LTP). LTP leads to living in truth and peace (honesty and harmony). It is not easy of course. One key way to promote LTP is to regularly have trusted others be mirrors for us and vice versa. Being mirrors means giving feedback on behaviors, attitudes, and motives. It includes shining a light into each others' lives regarding possible rationalizations, self-justifications, or other distortions of reality. It helps us to not settle for the convenient substitutes of partial truths and pseudo peace. LTP is a daily discipline and practical pathway for loving people. 

LTP is emphasized throughout the Judeo-Christian scriptures. My favourite example is from the 6^th century BC prophet Zechariah, cited below. His instructive words, indeed admonition, reflect the core of LTP. They are also the guiding principle for this new set of entries.

Do not fear! These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates. Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for I hate all these things, declares the Lord. . . . So love truth and peace. 

Zechariah 8:15–19 NASB
וְהָאֱמֶת וְהַשָּׁלוֹם, אֱהָבוּ

JC et al.--Living in Truth 16

Final Thoughts

Ecce homo. Antonio Ciseri c. 1880.

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This is the final entry on "living in truth." One way to use the 16 entries is to review them over the course of several days. For example: read one per day (online or printed); reflect on it;  and make at least one personal application. You can do this on your own, with a friend, or as a small group. These entries by JC et al. are meant to shine light on our virtues as well as bolster our resolve to face our own distortions—memories, motivations, and morality—and to live more honestly (in truth) with ourselves and others. Truth is a foundation for trust. And trust is necessary for peace. "So love truth and peace." (Zech. 8:19) 

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Truth-telling, struggling for justice, working toward forgiveness: these are three central dimensions of the social process of reconciliation. In all situations I know, they are never undertaken on a level playing field; the consequences of oppression, violence, and war are not predisposed to honesty, justice, and even good intentions in all parties. Nor are the processes, for the most part, orderly. And they never seem complete, in fact, we usually experience them as truncated, prematurely foreclosed, high-jacked by the powerful. We can find ourselves acquiescing to half-measures, half-truths, compromised solutions. Robert Schreiter, Reconciliation as a New Paradigm in Mission (2005). Quoted in Global Member Care: The Pearls and Perils of Good Practice 2011, p. 114 (quoted also in the Reality DOSE article, available in 12 languages: https://sites.google.com/site/mcaresources/).

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Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.

Jesus Christ (excerpt of his interaction with Pilate) 
John 18:37, NIV

Member Care and Resiliency—Part 5

High-Virtue Humans

Virtrio: A trio of core virtues.
(goodness)

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Human resiliency is the ability to face reality:

to deal with and grow through life’s challenges.

How resilient are you?

You may never know until you confront evil.

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Member care is primarily concerned with promoting health by practically supporting mission/aid workers. It involves doing good by carefully and competently helping workers grow.

At times our member care work may also require us to engage in the difficult task of confronting personal/systemic dysfunction. Big matters or even small matters, no one likes to do this. ‘Someone else will handle it,’ ‘This is too complicated,’ or ‘Just wait a bit and it will hopefully go away,’ are some of the default reasons for not getting involved. Our reticence to tackle “tough stuff” is even more apparent when the stakes are raised and we are faced with the choice of whether or not to confront serious deviance and evil.

The trio of virtues in the virtrio illustration above (perseverance, honesty, and courage) are essential for dealing with life’s challenges. These three qualities are core parts of “high-virtue humans”—virtrios humans—who excel in moral goodness. They are especially necessary when we encounter evil in all of its forms, be they blatant or disguised.

Evil is not the opposite of good but the distortion of good.

Sadly, distorted forms of good may go undetected for a long time.

Resilient virtue is needed to confront the many facets of such evil.

Resilient Evil and Resilient Virtue

Evil is also resilient. One recent example of resilient evil is the long-term fraud promulgated by Bernie Madoff. All the “good” he was doing to benefit investors-colleagues was actually faked. The deception has come back to haunt the business and banking sectors, university endowment programs, and many private citizens across the world. Unfortunately Madoff’s scheme was both resilient and malignant, a horrific combination.

Contrast Madoff’s despicable behavior to the praiseworthy actions of Harry Markopolos. Markopolos and his colleagues spent 12 years tracking Madoff, convinced about the illegitimacy of his money-making scheme. They persevered. They sought transparency (honesty). They were courageous. They were virtrios humans whose skills and resilient virtue, in spite of being ignored for years, eventually helped to expose the evil.

Trimangles

As we have seen in the previous entries, resilient people have inner strength, good social support, and a sense of purpose and/or trust in God. These qualities have been essential for several of us as we have confronted a grievous situation within parts of the international Christian community that has striking similarities to the Madoff case: major fraud. We have all had to muster plenty of virtrio (perseverance, honesty, and courage) in the face of a malicious “trimangle” of corruption (collusion, cover-ups, and cowardice). As the author of Hebrews says, ‘God hates wickedness just as much as He loves virtue’ (Hebrews 1:9, Jerusalem Bible). Created in His image, the same disdain for evil and passion for good is true for us.

Trimangle: A trio of core evils.
(corruption)

We as a group have learned that prudently confronting trimangles (unmasking/exposing/reproving darkness, as commanded in Ephesians 5:11) is not without its risks. Defamation, dismissals, and distress historically accompany the actions of virtrios humans. We have also learned that the levels of risk and fear are not the main criteria for determining whether an action is right or wrong. Do not be afraid to go public as you stand up for what is right, Christ says. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. Do not fear intimidation, discrediting, loss of livelihood, and even loss of life. Your task is to be true, not popular. I will take care of you. (Matthew 10 and Luke 6, paraphrases from The Message).

Resilient virtue: perseverance, honesty, and courage

prevails against

Resilient corruption: collusion, cover-ups, and cowardice.

Governments have an important responsibility in matters that involve major deviance/evil. So also do virtrios humans in civil society (e.g., media, regulatory bodies, organizations) and the Christian community (church, mission agencies). All three entities have a major and often overlapping responsibility to deal transparently and skillfully with trimangles. The exploitation of people (corruption) via joint deception (collusion), distortions of facts (cover-ups), and avoidance of responsibility (cowardice) do not simply go away on their own. They are resilient too. The world will not be any more safe—or virtuous-- until virtrios people act to make it so.

Courage.

Trust God.

Stay the course.

May you espouse virtue and expose evil.

Quotes, Notes, and More

1. Conference. Here is a summary of a presentation that we have proposed. It complements the resiliency theme from last year’s Mental Health and Missions Conference (19-22 November 2009). The title is Future Directions for Member Care: Going and Growing as Resilient Practitioners.

“What lies ahead for the member care field, and indeed for our world at large? In this presentation we discuss future challenges and opportunities for member care. The field needs “good learners-practitioners” who are growing in their character (virtues and resilience) and competency (skills and knowledge). These folks need to be willing to “cross sectors” (e.g., international health and humanitarian sectors), cross disciplines (e.g., human resources, management), and “cross deserts” (e.g., internal journeys of faith and struggle) in order to work effectively in unstable locations often permeated with conflict and calamity. These diverse, resilient, member care workers will have clear ethical commitments as they provide/develop quality services to mission/aid personnel in many cultural settings.”

2. Book. Here is another brief quote is from John Fawcett’s edited book, Stress and Trauma Handbook: Strategies for Flourishing in Demanding Environments (2003—click here to see a book review).

“Faith-driven or secular, the workers who bring aid to individuals, families and communities are the living embodiment of a human conviction that wrongs not only must be righted, but they can be righted." (p. 1).

3. Video. Have a look at this short photo report from the World Health Organization (WHO)—2009 Year in Review: Key Health Issues. The 12 photos and brief descriptions reflect some of the concerted efforts of humanity via the WHO to tackle major health issues facing the world. Other examples of personal stories and international media reports are listed on the Media that Matters section of our Member Caravan website.

4. Tool. How courageous are you? Consider this question via Matthew 10: 24-33. Christ addresses the importance for his followers to speak the truth openly and to identify with Him publicly. Have a look and give some examples where you have had to deal with fear and act with courage.

**Don’t be afraid:
a. of being discredited and maligned (v. 26)
b. of being killed (v. 28)
c. of being undervalued and overlooked (v. 31).

**Be courageous:
a. by confessing Christ without waver (v. 32)
b. by loving Christ more than anyone (37)
c. by taking up our cross and giving your life for Christ (38,39).

5. Music. Two songs by Dougie MacLean.

Ready for the Storm. Dougie is an incredible folk musician from Scotland whose songs are creative, beautiful, and inspirational. He is joined by Kathy Mattea, another gifted musician, and others in this video version of the song, circa 1995/1996.

No No No by Dougie is a powerful call to confront those who exploit people. To listen you must purchase/download this song on the artist’s site, for about one dollar. I think it is really worth it, as is the 1990 album on which it first appeared, Whitewash.

Reflection and Discussion
1. Give an example of a vitrios human that you know. Which virtues contribute to his/her resiliency?

2. How are virtues and developing virtues related to the fruits of the Spirit and walking in the Sprit (see Galatians 5:22-25)?
3. Discuss the notion of trimangles in terms of your personal or work experience.

4. Is resilient virtue always stronger than resilient evil?

5. Which of the above “notes, quotes, and more” are the most meaningful for you and why?

Member Care and Transparency—Part 2

Developmental Musings on Being Honest

After university I joined a mission organization as a volunteer.

I was 21 years old. This was nearly one-third of a century ago!

I worked in Mexico on a project to distribute Scripture for free.

 We also did practical work to help folks in the local communities.

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Arriba Mexico!

The project was birthed in 1977 following a disastrous hurricane that struck the area around La Paz on the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. Many volunteers from many countries arrived soon after to help hurricane victims who had lost their homes.

Shortly afterwards and stimulated by the experiences in La Paz, small teams of volunteers from different American and Mexican communities began to work together on what was called Bibles for Mexico. Collectively the many sort-teams teams went village to village, city to city, systematically giving free Bibles and seeing how they could help in practical ways. The goal was to give a free Bible to every home in Mexico, not just in Baja California (one of the 31 states of Mexico).

I joined this project a few months after the La Paz hurricane, in late 1977. We made it a point to mingle and work with the local community. We did things like clothing distribution, played sports with the kids, performed street theatre, and attended/did services at the churches.

Ensenada, Baja California Norte, Mexico--August 1978

It took eight years to cover the entire nine hundred mile span of the Baja California peninsula with free Bibles. The scale of the outreaches ranged from working in the large cities of Tijuana and Mexicali in the north to the many small villages scattered throughout the state.  We actually ended up giving out just the New Testament and in a version that was acceptable to both Roman Catholics and Protestants in Mexico (Dios Llega al Hombre--Good News for Modern Man). It took many teams and many years. But we did it. Together.

One of the amazing things for me in retrospect was that I was able to participate in this extensive project esentially as a volunteer working part-time while I was attending graduate school full-time. I was living and studying in Southern California and was two hours by car from the Baja border. So access to Mexico was pretty easy. Much of the work seemd to be on a learn-by doing basis in consultation with others, especially Mexicans. And there were lots of prayer and encouragement too to support our efforts. I ended up helping to organize and/or being responsible for some 40 outreaches. I could sure tell stories—but some other time!

These were some of my first sustained cross-cultural experiences. I learned so much about the many different types of people in Mexico and my own cultural influences. My Spanish improved of course, and I saw first- hand how God could use all of our strengths and limitations to help others, if we would trust Him and commit to work together. The many lessons, memories, and special people are embedded in my soul. This time was foundational for my future work and responsibilities in member care. These early developmental years in cross-cultural ministry were just so, so special!

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Hurray for Honesty!

One of the main items that impacted me in my early 20s in Mexico was a statement written on the small sticker that you see at the top of this weblog entry. Don’t gloss over these powerful words. We put this sticker on the front page of many of the Bibles that we were giving out. Thousands and thousands of them. It is both a declaration and a warning. As you can probably tell, it means:

“Only the dishonest fear the truth.”

This somber sticker reminds me of our topic of transparency. I still ask myself, in what ways might I be afraid of the truth? The truth about my weaknesses or ways that I have been wrong and need to make amends. We all need to do this. "Who can say, 'I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin.' " (Proverbs 20:9).

Courage to Act Responsibly

Currently there is major concern about the need for greater transparency and accountability in the business world and in Christian ministry. This concern is very welcome. It is well past the time to upgrade our ways in the faith-based sector in these crucial areas.

We may all want to take the lower ethical road and avoid transparency and accountability. We usually do so out of fear of negative consequences, self-interest,  and other reasons which can be rationalized and presented as being reasonable or virtuous. It is such a sad day when this happens in the faith-based sector. It just creates more wounds for the already wounded Body of Christ.

So  I wonder: who among us will act with honesty even if there are negative consequences? Who has the courage to take the higher ethical road of not covering up? "He who conceals a transgresson will not prosper but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion." (Proverbs 28:13)

Or what do we actually do when we are aware that there is strong evidence of major organizational misconduct, dysfunction, deviance, and things like covering up serious fiscal impropriety? Perhaps we simply look the other way in hopes that someone else will deal with it. Or we say to ourselves that we must be mistaken or should mind our own business because our leaders and our organizations would never act this way or permit such things to happen. Well, think again. But just don't ratinalize away reality or our responsibilities.

We need courage to take responsibility, to confront, to call for honesty (transparency and accountability) . We must not allow ourselves to be intimidated by the common responses of discrediting, distracting, minimizing, skapegoating, silencing, or harassing.

Acting with honesty and asking for honesty are risky. But when is work in the mission/aid world not risky? The areas of greatest need are often the areas of greatest risk. Sometimes this significant risk lies is within our own organizations, communities, and sectors. Risk is not just out there somewhere in the dangerous, unstable "field" locations  laden with conflicts and calamities.

We say we are willing to lose our life for Christ. This is a noble aspiration. Time will tell. But in the meantime are we willing to risk losing our reputations and our careers for His sake?

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Transparency—The Book

Consider this next set of quotes from Bennis et al in Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor (2006). Ah—if there were a book I would recommend right now to colleagues in member care and mission/aid it would be this one. Especially the first chapter. May I suggest that you read it and discuss it again and again. Apply it deeply and widely. It is not just about “them.” It is about all of us.

"But at any time an organization makes a seriously wrong decision, its leaders should call for an intensive postmortem. Such learning opportunities are too often overlooked. The tendency is simply to call on the public relations department to spin the mater, to make another inadequately thought-out decision, and perhaps to scapegoat, even fire, a few staff members. Because most companies cover up their mistakes instead of learning from them, systemic flaws in information flow tend to remain to do their damage another day." (pp. 22-23)

"Because denial, self-deception, and hypocrisy are such common features of organizational life, it is often useful for companies to bring in outside "anthropologists," independent observers skilled in identifying potentially toxic behaviors and the hidden values that drive them." (88-89)
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Reflection and Discussion

1. What are some of your own developmental musings about lessons and principles you learned during your initial cross-cultural experiences?

2. Why is it so hard to act honestly and to admit when we make mistakes?

3. In light of the Bennis quotes above, why is it difficult for organizations to confront their own errors and to ingrain honesty into their organizational ethos?

4. Give at least one positive example of a leader, friend, or organization that gets it right consistently—he/she/they admits a mistake, acts with integrity, and accepts the negative consequences.