Following Jesus in the Real World: Can you be honest and compete?

My youngest son, Brett, recently started a new job after searching for several months after his college graduation. He likely lost one job opportunity along the way because he was honest about his long-term commitment to the position. The temptation was to take the job at hand and worry about the rest later. He did the right thing and it worked out for him. Being honest can be a challenge when you feel like others are not playing by the rules. In this tough market more and more desperate job seekers are tempted to "pad" their resumes to rise to the top of the pile.

Background Information Services, a company that does background checks, has found that well over half of all resumes contain false information about work and educational credentials.

This hit close to home for me. A few years ago I was asked to write a bio that would be sent out with a press kit for my new book, When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. My educational background was, to be very kind, inconsistent. I was ADD before it was cool. Instead of having accommodations and testing and medication I was called into the guidance counselor's office and chastised for underachieving and laziness. Those are indeed great motivators. I loved the line from Donald Miller's book To Own a Dragon. Miller was describing the difficulties of paying attention in school: "I felt I was on a merry-go-round, hearing every fifth sentence. The rest of the time I wondered what a civilization of puppets would use for currency."

That, ladies and gentlemen, is my brain. At any rate, I survived high school with good enough grades to pass. With a clean slate I enrolled at Marietta College with a determination to show I could do well academically. I stayed interested for one semester and did well, even making the correct Dean's List for a change. After proving I could accomplish that goal, my interest promptly turned to Ping-Pong, pinball, and Strat-O-Matic baseball for the second semester. Not surprisingly, I dropped out after my freshman year.

As I examined my educational credentials for my bio here is what I had to put on the table:

Not exactly Algonquin Round Table material. I would have loved to embellish the old academic credentials. But it was like my grandpa used to say when he noted that you can't polish a . . . uhhhh . . . well, never mind what Grandpa used to say. The point is my academic career was spotty. Like Donald Miller I found my refuge in reading and research. I did learn that you never stop learning. And I realized the miracle of how God can use anyone, even a slacker like me. Getting puffed up with pride is not an option for me when it comes to my academic credentials.

Had I known about a company called Fake Resume I could have pumped up the old resume a bit. The website offers a resume "tune up" that shows you how to fill in gaps, get fake references, and even get transcripts from any university with the GPA you want. Here is the rationalization taken directly from the firm's website:

The bottom line is if you know you can do the job, then why shouldn't you fluff up your resume a bit? We all know a great deal of people who have held jobs that they were not qualified to have. Yet there they were day in and day out collecting big paychecks while other people corrected their frequent mistakes. This underground guide will teach you how to take your real life experience and embellished on them so you get the job you deserve. Can this be considered lying? Perhaps, but don't you deserve a shot at a job you know you can do? What about your prospective employer's honesty? How open and honest are they to their employees and future employees? Anyone who's read the newspaper or watched the evening news has witnessed the lack of integrity that runs rampant in today's corporate world. In my experience very few employers will fully reveal any unpleasant details affecting the positions they advertise.

So why not "fluff up" the qualifications? As long as you know you can do the job that's OK, isn't it? Lying? Well if you are going to get all nitpicky you could say it's lying. The temptation is to drag out the gold standard of rationalization. That would be justifying one sinful act because of another sinful act that someone else commits. Companies are dishonest? Then you can be dishonest, too. That merely levels the situational ethics playing field, right? The website has subheadings like "How much should you lie on your resume" and "How not to arouse suspicion."

I have the answers to those questions and I feel pretty confident these are biblically accurate:

In Proverbs you will find this timeless wisdom.

Truth stands the test of time; lies are soon exposed. Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil; joy fills hearts that are planning peace! (Proverbs 12, NLT)

So here is my resume with no embellishment:

Education: One year of college

Degrees: None

Honors: None

Clubs/societies: Member of Costco Warehouse

Job experience: Twenty-seven years of Texas Rangers baseball telecasts (enough bad pitching for three lifetimes)

Personal: Child of God and Follower of Jesus

Devoted husband of Joni (33 years this summer)

Proud father of three wonderful men and two beautiful daughter-in-laws

Blessed with wonderful friends and work associates

Sometimes I wish the top half of my resume could be "tuned up" a little. But the personal portion of my personnel file is what matters. And there I am blessed beyond words . . . and that is no embellishment.

I am happy that I chose to just be who I am in my bio and writing. God can use anyone. I am Exhibit A. Trusting God in tough times is a real act of faith. The words of Jesus should be our guide as we navigate these uncertain waters:

"That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need" (Matthew 6:25-33).