By Peter Hallett
Published December 2, 1997
The future of Australia will rise and fall by the character of its people.
As our nation faces enormous division over a range of issues, ultimately it will be the hidden springs of the heart that determine whether we embrace justice, compassion and wisdom or slide into the murky waters of stereotype, greed and prejudice.
Charles Colson, former right-hand-man of the late President Nixon, is all too familiar with such a slide. And yet it is the fact of his well-publicised conviction for his part in Watergate and subsequent prison sentence which make his voice so powerful.
Speaking at the Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast at Parliament House, Colson warned of the crisis of character facing our country and many others. He posed the question, "Can any nation survive the breakdown of character?"
He defined character as a heart disposition formed by belief in written and unwritten codes which enable us to restrain our baser instincts in favour of qualities such as duty, honour, courage, prudence, love of family and nation, respect of law.
"How often are these qualities discussed?" he asked. "And don’t they sound sort of quaint when you hear them."
Yes, many of us listening could understand what he was getting at. It is as if in our arrogance and pseudo-sophistication we have relegated such ideals to the domain of the naive, the ignorant or the politically incorrect. Yet how will our society survive if these ideals of character don’t?
If you as an individual have no basic commitment to honesty, kindness, compassion and the like, what chance do we have collectively? If we live only for ourselves who will give their lives for those in need?
Colson gave four reasons why the Christian faith is vital to the developing of character and by progression, hope for our nation.
Firstly, it provides "the motive for virtue". Public virtue does not create private virtue, it must be the other way around. When asked by Prince Phillip what could be done about juvenile violence, Colson reminded him that when Sunday School attendance was at its highest, the crime rate was at its lowest.
Secondly, it gives "the basis of doing good". Faith in a loving, just God who cares intimately about you and your neighbour provides us with the moral impulse to rise above ourselves.
Thirdly, it forms "the basis of truth". Without absolutes how do you define ethics? Colson noted that business schools around the world have been rushing to develop ethics courses and some have reached out to him for help because they have no place to start. The problem: a majority of business school students surveyed recently said they would commit a violation of business ethics if it produced the desired result. Many people have but one absolute - that there are no absolutes ("absolutely no absolutes" perhaps). In this environment, how do we know what is right and wrong and do we really care, as long as it is not our daughter murdered or our country ravished by war.
Fourthly, the Christian faith provides the "basis of protection of human rights". It prevents the last word belonging to a human leader and places us all equally under the protection of our Creator. It gives life meaning and importance and produces mechanisms for the teaching of this to children who otherwise grow up brutalised and incapable of comprehending the feelings of another.
The most important reason for urging people to turn to God for help, said Colson, was that the Christian message is true. The reality of Christ’s resurrection and ongoing relationship is what has turned Colson from a hard-nosed, political thug who did his time, to a leading Christian figure with an international prison ministry.
Or to bring it down to grass roots - five days after his release from prison, Colson was back inside - visiting fellow inmates.
The choice remains, emulate the early Charles Colson who was arguably the second-most powerful man in the United States but who still lacked any since of inner peace or security or follow the later Colson who discovered in prison that Jesus is the only security he will ever need.