Does The End Justify The Means?

Episode 19:  The Long John Flap

Klinger:   Father, over here.  I would like to ask your advice on a spiritual matter.

Father:     Why certainly.

Klinger:   If you need something – I mean, if you’re really cold 

or something – it wouldn’t be a mortal

sin to steal from somebody who was kind of a rotten 

person anyway?  Would it?

Father:    Have you stolen something?

Klinger:   These (passes out from hiding a pair of long johns)

Father:    Oh, my.  Aren’t they nice. Whoever you took these from  must be very cold now.

Klinger:    Father, if I give them back, the certain person I took them from would like to have me killed.  I’ve really been trying to avoid that lately.

The 4077 are experiencing a cold snap.  Hawkeye receives a pair of long johns from home, which become a coveted item in camp and are traded among the personnel, until they are stolen and returned to Colonel Blake to try and find the original owner.

One of the complications of leading in a world of relative morality and blurry boundaries is how easy it is to allow the end to justify the means.  These are those occasions when unethical or even illegal actions are engaged by organizations to achieve the desired outcomes, at whatever cost.   As leaders, our perception of the greater good should never compromise the truth of what actually is good.  Without clear absolutes, boundaries or vision our core values and integrity are at risk of becoming the casualty of morally and ethically questionable methods.

Overcoming Temptation

Episode 8:  Cowboy

Hawkeye:   [reading Cowboy’s letter from home] “Dear John.  Sometimes when you’re away from someone you thought you loved you find yourself tested by being tempted.  That’s what has happened to me.  Dear, dear John.  I was tempted, and I didn’t want to write until I knew whether I’d pass the test.  If I say I love you more than ever, will it tell you how I did?  And that I’m completely worthy of the most wonderful guy in the world.”

Helicopter pilot “Cowboy” is awaiting a letter from his wife while laid up at the 4077^th with a shoulder wound.  Concerned that she might be cheating on him and angered by Colonel Blake’s refusal to send him home to deal with his domestic issues, Cowboy tries to blow Henry up and takes him on a kamikaze helicopter ride.  The letter arrives and disaster is averted when Cowboy receives the news he is hoping for.

Leaders often find themselves in vulnerable situations where they are faced with a variety of temptations.  As people in a position of trust we must be aware of our weaknesses, put appropriate boundaries in place and develop accountable relationships.  While this may be sound advice, there is another dimension to fighting temptation.  I was recently confronted with the uncomfortable truth that I cannot be tempted by what I don’t desire. Therefore, the key to overcoming temptation is to submit my desires to Jesus Christ and allow His Spirit to renew my mind, for “those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (Romans 8:5).