I caught this on talk radio this morning and found the details online http://cbs2.com/local/Sullenberger.Hero.Pilot.2.924944.html. Apparently the hero of the “Miracle on the Hudson”, the pilot who safely landed his plane preserving the lives of all aboard a couple of weeks ago, isn’t a hero just when the camera is on. A borrowed book went down with the plane and “Sully” did what he needed to do to make it right with the library. No big fanfare–he just did it.
The interesting thing about this story, to me, is that it made the news. I’m sure someone thought, “Here’s yet another evidence that we’re right about this guy–that he’s the real deal” when it comes to integrity and to everything that’s been said about him. I think it’s great when someone who does something remarkable also ends up being a person of integrity.
Still…why do we find him so remarkable? Is it because he is truly the exception rather than the rule? Is it because we are so used to hearing about the negative exceptions in society that we are surprised to find integrity out there in surprising quantities?
When I heard the latest about Sully, it made me think of our devotional reading this morning. Chuck Swindoll’s words caught my attention: “The Christian’s greatest goal is to be like Christ…No greater compliment can be given than this one: ‘When I am with that person, it’s like I’m in the presence of Jesus Himself.’” The verse that went with the reading seems to me to be a great description of Biblical integrity: “We have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” (II Corinthians 8:21)
Heroes, indeed…
