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Just Another Essay



I’m Pondering the Fleeting Nature of a Good Reputation

In Light of Floyd Landis and the Tour de France

Essay Posted August 1, 2006 by James E. Nelson

There is an ancient tradition in Christianity of not only accepting false accusations silently, but seeing them in a positive light. I recently ran across the following story from the sayings of Abba Zosimas that is typical of this tradition:

The blessed Abba Zosimas also remembered that someone once told him of a very meek Old Man, saying that because of his great virtue and the wonders that he performed, the entire land regarded him as an angel of God. Therefore, one day, someone was incited by the enemy and came to insult that Old Man in the worst possible manner, in the presence of everyone. The Old Man stood up and simply pointed to that person’s mouth, saying, “The grace of God is in your mouth, my brother.” The latter was further outraged and said, “Sure, you wicked and hoary old glutton. You are just saying this in order to pretend to others that you are meek.” The Old Man responded, “That is true, my brother; what you are saying is the truth.”

After all this, it is said, someone else asked the Old Man, “Good monk, were you not troubled just now?” He replied, “No. In fact, I felt that my soul was being protected by Christ.” And the blessed monk Zosimas added, “It is true that one ought to give thanks for these things and, if one is indeed filled with passions, to regard such people as doctors who heal the wounds of the soul; and if one is dispassionate, one should regard them as benefactors who procure for us the heavenly kingdom.” [The Reflections (Dialogismoi) of Abba Zosimas, 12.a, trans. John Chryssavgis]

My favorite item in this tradition of celebrating false accusation is Prayer #75 of Prayers by the Lake, by Serbian Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich, of blessed memory. A portion of that prayer is as follows:

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Enemies have driven me into Your embrace more than friends have. Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.

Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath Your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world. . . .

They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself. . . .

Truly enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of Your garment.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them. . . .

I am reminded of this spiritual tradition after the latest Tour de France scandal. Floyd Landis, winner of the Tour, had too much testosterone in his blood stream following stage 17, the stage where his super-human effort over the mountains put him back into the race.

Landis takes two different medications (with the knowledge, approval, and oversight of the race authorities): a hormone for his thyroid condition and cortisone shots into his hip—he can’t even lift his right leg high enough to get onto his bike because of the pain. He’s scheduled to have surgery later this year. Landis claims that he has naturally high levels of testosterone—not uncommon among athletes—and that his two medications exacerbate the problem. The same Spanish medical experts who have been vigorously chasing down cheaters say that Landis’ claims are completely reasonable and have agreed to study Landis’ blood profile in a controlled environment. They will check the results against the French findings.

Only Floyd Landis will ever know for sure whether or not he cheated in order to win stage 17 and ultimately the Tour de France. This scandal will certainly further tarnish the reputation of the sport. One big Spanish financial backer has abandoned professional bicycling altogether, saying it now has a reputation equivalent to bull fighting and professional wrestling. And this is true of Landis as well. Even if, perchance, Landis is innocent of the doping charge, it is also almost certain that his personal reputation is ruined as a result of the scandal. As he said, following his claim of innocence and explanation of the test results, “I wouldn't hold it against somebody if they don’t believe me. I'm a realist,”

It is the Landis affair that reminded me of Abba Zosimas and Bishop Nikolai. There’s an old pearl of wisdom that says we need to protect our good names and reputations. That may be good human wisdom, but it’s contrary to the great body of Christian teaching throughout the centuries. A good reputation before other people is often the path to hell because we confuse our good name with actual goodness. Being falsely accused and having our reputation dragged through the mud provides the opportunity to confess our sinfulness and rely all the more exclusively on God’s goodness rather than our own.

Assuming he's innocent, for the sake of argument, I’m not calling on Landis to abandon all efforts to recover his reputation. Christian virtue is often human folly, and this is a typical example. On the other hand, the dark cloud hanging over the Landis name has offered me the opportunity to renew my own commitment to this foolish Christian virtue.