Life as It Ought to Be - Part 3: Set Free…to Lift Up Our Neighbor

Theme:   After investing over 50 years of my life as a student and teacher in the life sciences, I have been reflecting on how important it is for a teacher to help students realize their potential and then encouraging them to work toward professional maturity.   Spiritually speaking, we can learn much from the example of Jesus Christ, the Master Teacher.  Instead of “looking down” on people, Jesus aimed to “lift up” men and women toward spiritual maturity.  As a Christ-follower, I want to learn more about how to "lift people up." On that note, I will conclude this article with some detail on a ministry God has given me to three generations of men.
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God saw His creation was "good" because it fulfilled His plan.

When I was a little child, I learned the wonderful truth that “God is good” (Psalm 73: 1).  Since then, I have been learning that all of God’s works are good (Psalm 107: 1).   In the very beginning, before God created the heavens and the earth, Jesus Christ Who is the Word of God, existed.  Within the mind of God the eternal “blueprint “of a “good creation” already existed.  Thus, when God had completed His work of creation, He saw it was good because it was the exact representation of His preconceived “blueprint.” Note that Genesis 1: 31 contains the last of seven affirmations recorded in Chapter 1 in which God proclaims the goodness and completeness of His creation.

Sadly, Satan’s intrusion into the Garden of Eden and the wrong moral choices of Adam and Eve brought sin and death, or separation from God (Genesis 3).  But God did not give up on His creation.  Since the fall, God has been doing another “good work”—the restoration of fallen humans.  The biblical narrative immediately after the fall records the first of God’s promises that “the seed of the woman” would deliver mankind from the bondage of sin (Genesis 3: 15). 

Today, we can proclaim the good news that “the Deliverer has come!”  His Name is Jesus Christ.   Jesus died on a Roman Cross and rose again to deliver from the dominion of sin and death all those who believe in His death and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15: 1-8).  But Christ came not only to deliver believers into Life Eternal, but also to offer them an Abundant Life here and now—i.e. “Life as It Ought to Be.” This Life is available to all believers who by the power of God’s Holy Spirit are saved to love and serve Him (“Part 1: Set Free…to Serve”).  Spirit-led, Scripture-fed living also leads to renewal of the way we think (“Part 2: Set Free…to Renew Our Minds”).

In Part 2, I referred to a claim by Dr. Caroline Leaf that, next to God, the most powerful thing in the universe is the human mind.  How we think has major impact on our own lives and on how we relate to others.  One specific aspect of how we think about others relates to how we serve God and our neighbor.  Therefore, Part 3 of this series will combine the points made in the first two articles.  When we are “Set Free…to Serve” and “…to Renew our Minds,” we will respond to the Spirit’s call to “Lift Up Our Neighbor.”

Christ-followers who see others through His eyes and who love them as God loves them will be God’s instruments in their spiritual restoration.   Too often, we tend to “pigeon hole” others based on our estimation of their economic status, or education, or physical appearance.  As Christ-followers, we must realize that Jesus never viewed people in this way.   Just as He did before He created the heavens and the earth, Christ envisions each person not as they were but as they would be once they were following in His steps.

The Gospel accounts are full of instances in which Jesus lifted and transformed people into what He knew they could be as a Christ-follower.  Perhaps the best example is the transformation Jesus produced in Simon Peter.  The Gospel of John records that Simon’s brother, Andrew brought him to Jesus.  Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter).

Jesus inspires people to strive to a higher level. (e.g. Simon Peter)

In giving Simon the name, “Peter”, meaning “the Rock,” Jesus was inviting Simon to view himself in a new light as a Christ-follower.  According to Mark Nelson, Senior Pastor of Crossroads Community Church, Auburndale, FL in his March 5 message, the name, “Peter” was a nickname something like today’s “Rocky.”  Simon’s new name required him to explain to his peers why he was suddenly being called “the Rock.” In the process of explaining his new name, “the Rock” would begin to grow into the strong, faithful leader Jesus foreknew Peter would become.

But Peter the Rock would have his faltering times like we encounter along our way.  After Peter’s bold assertion that he would lay down his life for Him (John 13: 37), Jesus told Peter that a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times (John 13: 38).  Knowing all about Peter from the beginning of time, Jesus also lovingly explained to him that Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;  but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers (Luke 22:31-32).  Jesus saw beyond Peter’s faltering faith to what He would become through the Spirit’s power as for example when Peter preached his powerful sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2: 14-47).

But what about people who reject any claim of God’s love in their lives?  Surely, there would seem to be no hope of their redemption and restoration.   However, we must remember that any person who is spiritually lost is infinitely separated from God regardless of their lifestyle.  Thankfully, God’s redemption plan has no limit.  For example, John 4 records that when Jesus and his disciples visited Jacob’s well in Samaria, his disciples saw a Samaritan woman.  To the Jews of that day, she was a member of a disdained ethnic minority to be avoided.  But, Jesus knew even more about her.  He knew she was living an immoral lifestyle.  In spite of what He knew of this Samaritan, Jesus saw her as a person who was very “thirsty.” So, He offered her “living water” (John 4: 10) and by faith, she allowed Jesus to quench her thirst.  Within a short time, this woman who had been hiding in shame from the public eye had left her water pot, and went into the city and said to the men, "Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?"

Psalm 107 reveals how God longs to redeem the “hungry soul” and the “thirsty soul:”

They wandered in the wilderness in a desert region...
They were hungry and thirsty;
Their soul fainted within them.
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble;
He delivered them out of their distresses…

For He has satisfied the thirsty soul,
And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.

Jesus had another way of inviting people to “life as it ought to be:” He said, come unto Me all of you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest… (Matthew 11: 28).  A.W. Tozer comments that

“…Jesus was referring to the burden of the tuneless heart, the burden of the voiceless nightingale.  It was the burden of the heart capable of tremendous, infinite love, which could not find an object for that love.  It was the burden of the man whose tongue was made to praise God, but has been silent in his mouth for all these years.”  My Daily Pursuit. Regal, 2013. p. 72

The Bible repeatedly conveys God's aim of restoring prodigals.

The message of Scripture is clear—the redeemed who realize that they have been bought from the slave market of sin will want to share the good news.  In 2 Corinthians 5: 20, the Apostle Paul writes (emphasis mine), Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.   Paul himself was far from being a pagan, but when he met the risen Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9) and was converted, he acquired a new zeal, driven by two motivations.

First, Paul had fallen in love with Jesus Christ and wanted to make Him known.  In 2 Corinthians 5: 14, he proclaims, …the love of Christ controls us...  Like many first century believers, Paul responded to Christ’s call-- you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth (Acts 1:8). 

Second, I must remember that God is sovereign over the lives of men and women.  I must submit to His timing and His leading as to how and when to share the claims of Christ with my neighbor.  The passage quoted from Psalm 107 above teaches us that each person must first realize their hunger and thirst, and then cry out in repentance to God before he or she can be transformed.  The Psalmist is grieved when he considers people who are focused only on this life and have not yet made provision for their eternal existence after death:

For he sees that even wise men die;
The stupid and the senseless alike perish
And leave their wealth to others.
Their inner thought is that their houses are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations… (Psalm 49: 10-11a)

During the past year, I have been privileged to share the message of Christ’s love in two different families, each representing three generations of men—a grandfather, his son, and his grandson.  By regularly committing these men to God for His work in their lives, I have received both a burden for their souls and at least some vision of what they could be once restored in Christ.  I know that I cannot pretend to know all of God’s ways as He works in the hearts of people, but I still pray that He will give me a glimpse of what they can be when complete in Christ.

The grandfather in one of the families is the man of whom I wrote in an earlier Oikonomia article entitled, Taking in the Treasures on the Towpath Trail.  In that article, I had described some of the botanical, cultural, and historic treasures I found along the Towpath Trail in my bicycle trip from Massillon to Bolivar, Ohio.  That particular trip was my third out of six visits with this man over a period of five months.  During each visit our friendship grew and he allowed me to present the biblical claims of God’s love and provision for forgiveness of his sin and subsequent peace with God through faith in Christ. 

After several visits, it became increasingly evident that this grandfather had not allowed any place for God in his busy life as a hard-working farmer.  Nor would he acknowledge his need of a Savior Who, according to Scripture, died on a Roman cross bearing the sins of us all.  When I asked him if he had a Bible in his home, he said his wife had had a Bible but must have put it back somewhere because he has not found it.  He apparently had not been searching for the Bible because his wife has been dead for over 20 years.  Nevertheless, during my next visit, I brought him two Bibles, both marked with sticky notes to highlight passages that present the Gospel of salvation.  On the next visit, he apologized for being too busy to read the verses I had marked.

On December 23, I visited this grandfather for a sixth time.  I read to him the account of the first Christmas from the Gospel of Luke.  I also explained how Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection is God’s greatest Gift to mankind to save us from our sins.  Then, I presented a fruit basket to him, explained that it is a gift from me, and asked him to receive it gladly just as God asks us to receive His Gift of salvation through Christ.  The hardness of his heart remained, even at this time when the spirit of Christmas was all around us.  Afterwards, I decided to end my visits to this man and to continue my prayers that He would reach for the Bibles and allow the message of God’s love to transform him.

After a period of over three months, on April 1, I decided to visit my friend again.  I found his home locked up and no one answered the door, so I called his son and his grandson.  I was stunned to learn from the grandson that his dad had found the grandfather (his father) lying dead in his home on Easter morning.  I also learned that the funeral service was scheduled for that afternoon just a couple of miles from the grandfather’s home.  I decided to attend.  I also hoped that God had used my ministry or that of another person in this man’s life since my Christmas visit.  If this had happened, the pastor in charge of the service would be able to report that my friend had humbly called upon God to clothe him in His righteousness in Christ before he faced eternity when he died on that Easter morning the week before. 

I thanked God for making it possible for me to attend my friend’s funeral in spite of the fact that I had been unaware of his death until that morning.  I was also thankful for the opportunity to greet his family, including his son and grandson.  Unfortunately, the pastor gave no indication that my friend had trusted Christ to lift his burden of sin and present him spotless before the throne of the Father.  Although it is not possible for me to be sure of his eternal destiny, I was not encouraged by the pastor’s “assurance” that my friend had earned his place in heaven because he was a good farmer and cared for his family. 

I must remember that my friend’s eternal destiny is in God’s hands.  Was my bicycle trip down the Towpath Trail months earlier to share the Gospel all in vain?  Were my five other visits all in vain?  I don’t think so, but only time will tell.  Certainly, I realize that it is ultimately God Who transforms lives.  Our role is to humbly share God’s treasure, the light of His glorious Gospel which we have in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves…(2 Corinthians 4: 7).  Meanwhile, I am building friendships with my now-deceased friend’s son, grandson, and family.   With God’s help, I am learning to view these men and their family members through the eyes of Christ Who can transform us all into His image according to His plan so that we can each live “Life As It Ought to Be.”

How About You?   I welcome you to share your favorite characters or events from Scripture to illustrate God’s transforming work for good.   Or maybe you have your own personal experience of being present when God transformed the life of one of your family or friends.  

Fundamentals of Conservation, Part 3 "Serving with Our Neighbor"

Thanksgiving is a special holiday to me because it has been generally less commercialized than nearby Halloween and Christmas.   Thanksgiving invites us to remember the only true Object of genuine thankfulness— God Who is the ultimate Provider of all things.  Indeed, thankfulness without an object to receive our thanks is narrow and incomplete.

In our recent blog entries on “Fundamentals of Conservation,” we have emphasized that conservation, or “con-service” means to serve with.  Thus, both “thanks-giving” and “con-service” suggest the need for an object.  Conservation has two objects of “service”—with God, and with creation.  Furthermore, both “con-service” and “thanks-giving” imply that a certain quality of character be expressed toward the object in question; namely, a submissive spirit and a thankful spirit.  But how do these character qualities come about?

Biblically speaking, conservation is a practice of individuals who have acknowledged that rebellion and sin, not submission and service, are “in their DNA” inherited from Adam and Eve (Genesis 3).  As a result, they recognize their utter inability to exercise true dominion (submissive stewardship; Genesis 1: 16-28; 2: 15) without first humbly confessing and seeking God’s forgiveness through the atoning blood of Christ.  The true conservationist is submissive and thankful that God has redeemed him and enlisted him to serve on a planet that groans under the wages of sin (Romans 8: 19-23).

For the spiritually reborn child of God, biblical conservation grows out of an intimate relationship of serving with God.  Serving in this partnership with the Creator, we can learn the origin, true value, and significance of creation (Part 1, Article #1 April).  The quality of our stewardship is further enhanced as we learn more about the workings of creation (See Part 1, Article #2 May) and what is pleasing to our Creator (2 Corinthians 5: 9 and See Part 1, Article #3 June) as we serve Him by serving with creation.  Serving with creation in turn requires that we become students of both the historical influences on the land (See Part 2, Article #1 September) and the current processes at work in the landscape (See Part 2, Article #2 October).

This month’s “Fundamentals of Conservation”, Part 3, emphasizes that biblical conservation (or stewardship) of creation is practiced not only by serving with God and serving with Creation, but in serving with our neighbor.  This notion is based on the fact that God in the three Persons of the Trinity is a relational God.  It is this relational God Who created humans to exist in relationship with Him and with one another as His image bearers.  It follows that conservation blossoms in its fullest sense as we realize its relational nature as expressed when the conservationist serves with all three agents in right relationship—with God, creation, and neighbor.

I will now illustrate how conservation rests upon all three agents noted above, like the three legs of a stool in proper proportion.   I am thankful that God sought me out and redeemed me as His own son, then gave me a great love for His creation, and has blessed me with many good “neighbors” with whom to work.  Allow me to share first a few of the “neighbors” who have been partners, teachers, and mentors.

My dearest prairie partner in early 1980's
with Prairie Dock ("cut-leafed variety)

First, God has blessed me with my wife Alvadell (“Abby”), my nearest and dearest “neighbor” who has been “one with me” since 1969.  She has been beside me as wife, mother of our children, and companion in church, community, forest, and field.  Some of our most cherished communion with each other and with God has been as we’ve enjoyed the beauty and wonder of His creation.

In 1979, God led us as a family to Cedarville College where we grew spiritually in the light and warmth of pastors, friends, and colleagues for over three decades while I taught in the Science-Math Department.  Abby and I had discovered Cedarville ten years earlier while students at Malone College.  At Malone, it was Professor Charles C. King who had ignited my interest in botany and ecology.  Later Dr. King, as director of the Ohio Biological Survey, was responsible for identifying some of the remnant forest and prairie communities, including the railroad prairie remnants mentioned in this blog series.

Jack McDowell (center) and Charles C. King (right)

During my years at Cedarville, I became closely acquainted with two other prairie enthusiasts.  One was Jack McDowell who was so instrumental in conservation efforts through Columbus metroparks.  Jack explained to me how he and Charlie King had become fast friends after they had “chanced to meet” in, of all places, a prairie remnant community in central Ohio.  The other prairie enthusiast is Lynn Holtzman, a wildlife biologist with the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources.  Lynn’s commitment to land stewardship based on his pursuit of God and a scholarly understanding of biblical environmental ethics was instrumental in the development of my own conservation ethic.

Lynn Holtzman (Photo taken at Milford Ctr. Prairie, Union Co.)

In fact, Lynn’s master’s thesis was entitled “Nature as Neighbor: Aldo Leopold’s Extension of Ethics to the Land.”  God has allowed Lynn and I to be “good neighbors” in several land stewardship projects in SW Ohio.  Of course conservation efforts require the neighborly cooperation of local land managers as the following paragraphs should illustrate.

When the last freight train passed through Cedarville in the mid-1980’s, remnant prairie communities along the railway from Xenia to Columbus, Ohio became of greater interest, particularly because of the plan to convert the rails to bicycle trails.  Rather suddenly, the abandoned railways--long, narrow swaths of land with lots of “surface area” adjoining land owned by many “neighbors” per mile were about to undergo a change in land use. 

Native Royal Catchfly, Silene regia, in the narrow railway
corridor (now Prairie Grass Trail) surrounded by agriculture

Having gained some botanical knowledge of the flora along the abandoned railway, several park districts enlisted me in 2001 and 2002 to inventory and map the native plant species along the abandoned railway in Greene, Clark, and Madison counties.  In an effort to create interest in prairie plants of the abandoned railway among local residents, I created a webpage featuring color photos of remnant prairie flora.

As the bikeway was being completed, my students and I developed and conducted an opinion survey of landowners adjacent to the bikeway.  We had three goals the first of which was to determine how “bikeway neighbors” viewed the new bikeway.

Royal Catchfly and Culver's Root
growing in the narrow railway corridor surrounded by cropland

Second, we wanted to use the survey as an opportunity to locate individuals who would provide historical information about the prairie remnant communities.  Finally, we hoped that face-to-face encounters with landowners might spawn cooperative efforts leading to the development of buffer zones adjacent to the otherwise long, narrow configuration of the remnant prairie communities surrounded by agricultural cropland.

As a result of our “boots on the ground” presence, the students and I were able to meet several interested “bikeway neighbors” and we soon learned the necessity of neighborliness in our land conservation effort.  We were also welcomed by the Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails (FMCPT) capably led by Wayne Roberts.  As a result of our landowner survey and cooperation with Julia Cumming, Madison Soil and Water Conservation District, we were able to secure cooperation with Jim Mitchell, whom we had met through our opinion survey and who was interested in devoting some land adjacent to the bikeway to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).  

Transplants of native prairie plants into Mitchell field along
bikeway (upper R). Jim Mitchell & son (L), J. Zehring and I

The Mitchell land was sown in prairie grasses.  Jim allowed us to add prairie forbs to the field and used his skid-steer loader with forestry attachment to cut and remove trees and shrubs encroaching on the prairie adjacent to the bikeway.  We hope that the partnership with Jim Mitchell can be a prototype for more partnerships between the park district/bikeway program and “bikeway neighbors.”

The FMCPT has been very effective in promoting the “Prairie Grass Trail” bikeway in cooperation with the Soil Conservation District and other organizations.  We are using a strategic management plan in an attempt to conserve prairie remnant plant species using a combination of approaches including mechanical removal, controlled burning, and herbicidal applications to simulate the environmental conditions that preserved these historic prairie remnants.

Jerry Miller, FMCPT volunteer with Royal Catchfly and
Prairie Coneflower (dry seed heads) in the Mitchell field

Yes, conservation is “con-service”—serving with Creator, creation, and neighbors.  The relationship goes both ways; as we serve God and His creation, God keeps us by providing both spiritual and physical “bread.”  Likewise, land under proper care will yield its fruitfulness back to us in the form of food, fiber, medicinal compounds, aesthetic enjoyment, etc.  Thus, conservation is made complete when neighbors work together for the cause of serving both God and creation.  Don’t forget the three supporting legs of a stool.   These truths were illustrated this past summer during the Prairie Appreciation Bike Ride sponsored by the Friends of Madison Co. Parks and Trails.  Some of the riders on this July Saturday had been volunteer “bikeway neighbors” who had, during the late winter months, toiled together to cut and burn encroaching shrubs and trees to allow space and light for the prairie plants to grow.  Many had not seen the worksites since winter, and they responded with glee at their first sight of colorful native prairie wildflowers flourishing in places that had been overgrown with woody species.  This satisfaction and joy was the blessed result of their willingness to serve creation and share with neighbors in valuing the purposes of our conservation plan.

Prairie Appreciation Bike Riders
learn more about remnant prairie history and conservation.

The same commitment to land stewardship, or conservation, is expressed through the older and more comprehensive Town of Dunn Land Use Plan under the leadership of Calvin DeWitt.  (In Part 1, Article #1 of this series I had referenced Dr. Calvin DeWitt as the author of the book Earthwise (3rd. ed., 2011, Faith Alive Christian Resources) in which he develops the notion of con-servation.)  DeWitt reflects on the Town of Dunn conservation effort in his recent book, Song of a Scientist: The Harmony of a God-Soaked Creation (2012, Square Inch. Grand Rapids, MI).  I conclude with an excerpt from this book which illustrates the ingredients and outcomes of conservation—a relational process in which willing people in community serve with Creator, creation, and neighbor:

The members of our community made the decision to get to know our place well and to act on that knowledge for the benefit of the land and its life.  Many were motivated simply by love of the land and their community, others by their Norwegian Lutheran upbringing or their Irish Catholic heritage.  Together, by all of our mutual efforts, a land ethic was instilled in the heart of our community, and we have dedicated our lives to its defense.  Our land ethic is published on our town website.  But it is published best in our community: in the lives of citizens and in the remarkable landscape of our town, which proclaims the stewardship we practice in this place.  With our land ethic we join the glorious chorus of those around the world who proclaim God’s sustaining provisions in creation.

Is Romney’s Rhetoric Backed by Character?

This year, Americans have a choice of who will occupy the White House for the next four years.  The presumed nominee for the Democratic Party, Barack Obama, is the only self-proclaimed evangelical on the two presidential tickets.  His Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, is a self-proclaimed Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Obama has the advantage of name recognition; and, perhaps a disadvantage in having a track record as president for four years that offers vulnerable targets for his critics.

A majority of self-professing evangelical Christians uphold the sanctity of human life, the sanctity of marriage as being between one man and one woman, and the freedom from coercion toward acts that violate religious convictions in the workplace.  President Obama upholds none of these basic foundations of morality and freedom.   Many social conservatives would say President Obama’s walk is inconsistent with his talk and with the Judeo-Christian principles that have undergirded and distinguished western civilization.   All of these positions should be taken into consideration between now and election day.

But what about Mitt Romney?   Are his actions consistent with his religious faith?  If we wish to be objective, both presidential candidates must be subjected to the same standards.   For example, unlike President Obama, Mitt Romney clearly defends the rights of the unborn, the sanctity of marriage as between a man and a woman, and exercise of religious freedom.  But is this lesser known candidate the “genuine article,” a person with integrity.   To choose a good leader, voters should know whether his walk matches his talk; and, that means seeing more than his tax returns.  [For elaboration, see Oikonomia, March 31, 2012 .]

So, is Mitt really a “good man” as some have said?  And, is he a “good man for the job.”   We may never agree as a nation on either count; or, on how to determine Romney’s “goodness.”  But, let’s see what we can glean from Romney’s own words and from the testimony of those who know him.  Then, we’ll use a third approach.   Because Mitt Romney appears to be reluctant to talk about himself and his accomplishments, we may gain more insights into the man from the answers he seems reluctant to give when he is pressed hard by questioners

First, from Romney himself [Commencement Address, Liberty University, May 12, 2012]:

The American culture promotes personal responsibility, the dignity of work, the value of education, the merit of service, devotion to a purpose greater than self, and, at the foundation, the pre-eminence of the family.   The power of these values is evidenced by a Brookings Institution study [reporting that for]… those who graduate from high school, get a full-time job, and marry before they have their first child, the probability that they will be poor is 2%. But, if those things are absent, 76% will be poor.   Culture matters. 

Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman.

Someone once observed that the great drama of Christianity is not a crowd shot, following the movements of collectives or even nations.  The drama is always personal, individual, unfolding in one’s own life. We’re not alone in sensing this.  Men and women of every faith, and good people with none at all, sincerely strive to do right and lead a purpose-driven life.

Our relationship with our Maker… is entirely in our control, for He is always at the door, and knocks for us.  Our worldly successes cannot be guaranteed, but our ability to achieve spiritual success is entirely up to us, thanks to the grace of God.  The best advice I know is to give those worldly things your best but never your all, reserving the ultimate hope for the only one who can grant it.

People of different faiths, like yours and mine, sometimes wonder where we can meet in common purpose, when there are so many differences in creed and theology.  Surely the answer is that we can meet in service, in shared moral convictions about our nation stemming from a common worldview.  The best case for this is always the example of Christian men and women working and witnessing to carry God’s love into every life – people like the late Chuck Colson.

Those who know Romney claim that it is just not his nature to speak up about his accomplishments.  Meanwhile, his opponents in the primaries, and more recently the Obama campaign, have portrayed him as a wealthy entrepreneur who gained his fortune through the ruthless maneuvering of Bain Capital.   But, here are some fact-checked bits of information that contradict the negative portrayal of Romney:  

Ilyn Ross blogs in “Reason Reigns:”

At the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, he inherited a $370 million deficit. He left behind a $100 million surplus, contributing $1 million of his own money, & drawing no salary for 3 years. As MA governor with both houses of the MA legislature having large Democratic majorities, Romney faced an immediate $650 million shortfall & a projected $3 billion deficit for the next year. By 2006, MA had a $600–700 million surplus. Romney drew a salary of $1 per year.

Mr. Grant Bennett, CEO of CPS Technologies and former consultant with Bain Capital stated at the recent RNC:

I have spent thousands of hours over many years with Mitt Romney.  We spent our time together serving our fellow men and women - we spent it serving in our church.  We embraced Christ's admonition: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

In our early morning calls, Mitt didn't discuss questions of theology. He found the definition of religion given by James in the New Testament to be a practical guide: "Pure religion ... is to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction."

So, what specifically did Mitt Romney do as our pastor?   For one or two evenings each week and several hours every weekend -- week after week and year after year -- he met with those seeking help with the burdens of real life, burdens we all face at one time or another: unemployment, sickness, financial distress, loneliness.  Mitt prayed with and counseled church members seeking spiritual direction, single mothers raising children, couples with marital problems, youth with addictions, immigrants separated from their families, and individuals whose heat had been shut off.

Mitt seldom delivered the sermon himself - he gave that opportunity to fellow church members.
He sought to involve everyone so everyone could grow.  Mitt taught faith in God, personal integrity, self-reliance and service to our fellow men.   And Mitt did what he challenged us to do. He led by example.   I treasure every minute we served together.  I am grateful for my apprenticeship in "the things that matter most" under the hands of a deeply good man named Mitt Romney.

From Ted Oparowski whose 14-year-old son was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma:

You cannot measure a man's character based on words he utters before adoring crowds during happy times. The true measure of a man is revealed in his actions during times of trouble.  The quiet hospital room of a dying boy, with no cameras and no reporters -- that is the time to make an assessment.

From Pam Finlayson, who gave birth to a daughter 3½ months premature resulting in severe heart and lung problems:

As I sat with her in intensive care, consumed with a mother’s worry and fear, dear Mitt came to visit and pray with me,” she continued, as the partisan crowd listened in rapt silence. “I will never forget that when he looked down tenderly at my daughter, his eyes filled with tears, and he reached out gently and stroked her tiny back.   I could tell immediately that he didn’t just see a tangle of plastic and tubes; he saw our beautiful little girl, and he was clearly overcome with compassion for her.

When it comes to loving our neighbor, we can talk about it or we can live it.  The Romneys live it every single day.

What is Romney hiding?  We may or may not agree with what Mitt Romney says, or with the positions he takes as a political leader.   We may also question the validity of what his close friends say.  But, we must at least consider those things Romney has only revealed when it seems he’d rather not ‘go there’ or which are revealed by reports from fact-finding research into his past.  Consider a few examples.

Because Mitt is the son of George Romney, former CEO of American Motors, he is sometimes portrayed as having been “born with a silver spoon in his mouth.”  However, when he has been pressed to speak about his inheritance, he responds as recorded by the NY Times:  

Except for a loan from his father to purchase his and Ann’s first home, in Belmont, MA for $42,000, Romney states:   I gave [my inheritance from my father] to a school which Brigham Young University established in his honor, the George W. Romney School of Public Management.

According to Monique Hamm reporting in Human Events (8/26/2012),

One instance that highlights Romney’s style of silent charity is Joey’s Park, a playground named in memory of Joey O’Donnell, who died of cystic fibrosis and was the son of a Romney neighbor.  Romney led the effort to build the park as well as its upkeep. “There he was with a hammer, a Mitt nobody sees,” Joseph O’Donnell, the father of the late boy, told the authors of “The Real Romney.” After the construction, Romney returned with a local Boy Scout troop to ensure that the memorial was maintained. “He did it for like the next five years, without ever calling to say, ‘We did this,’ without a reporter in tow, not looking for any credit.

In the final analysis, voting citizens of this great land must ask themselves, first, “How important is it that a candidate possess a character marked by virtues of humility and reverence for God, love for neighbor, respect for the sanctity of life and sanctity of marriage, valuing of individual effort and hard work, and respect of religious groups and their freedom to worship and practice their faith?”

Second, “Is it important that character virtues like those listed above are demonstrated through the candidate’s promises, actions, and policies?” And, third, “Are we willing to take the time to identify and evaluate the candidates on the basis of how well their words and their actions demonstrate virtuous character?”  As we individually hold ourselves to these standards, and then prayerfully seek answers to at least the three questions above, we will gain a better sense of which presidential candidate best demonstrates the qualities necessary to exercise leadership that America needs.