The Standard Is Not Mashed Potatoes

(Part 6 of the Beyond Trophies Series)

Okay, I’m not wearing rose-colored glasses.  I know that less than exemplary behavior sometimes wins debate rounds.  Rudeness pops up in cross-examination or in low-blow insults.  Evidence and support get twisted.  Tag lines and impacts don’t match evidence.  Irrelevant arguments get repeated incessantly.  Unsubstantiated claims are made.  Some debaters intentionally lie.  Some bank robbers never get caught either.  

Today I’m going to set before you two challenges in the context of losing to debating that is less than honorable.

CHALLENGE ONE—Absolutely resist the temptation to try winning by less than honorable behavior.  Why?  Here are two good reasons.

REASON ONE—Trading your integrity for winning a ballot is way too high a price.  

Pragmatism
There is a word for this kind of trade. It’s called pragmatism, and it basically means doing whatever it takes to get the IMMEDIATE result you want, regardless of what is right.  “Immediate” is the key word here because the fact of the matter is that the immediate result obtained by pragmatism does not ultimately lead to a good or cool place.  You simply can’t get there with pragmatism.  The immediate result obtained by pragmatism isn’t even on the road to real success.  It’s a hoax, a dead end joke, and the joke is on you if you try it.  You just end up looking really foolish.

That's not all

But, oh, if only looking foolish were all there were to it; alas, looking foolish is only the start of it.  Closely on the heels of looking foolish comes loss of respect and the loss of integrity, both of which are necessary prerequisites for true success.  Though I pray it’s not the case, if you listen carefully in the hallways of the next tournament, you will probably hear news of those who foolishly chose this trade.  They’ve lost respect and their integrity, not only among their peers, but among judges, too, who might have considered hiring them, voting for them, or agreeing to be their in-laws someday.  The wise will consider the stakes.

Debate IS the real world

Don’t be naïve; what happens in a debate round never stays in a debate round!  Debate is not somehow magically separated from the world of reality.  It IS reality when it comes to your character, your reputation, and your integrity; your conduct in the world of debate will affect the rest of your life.

At every debate tournament, people make decisions about whom they would never hire, never work for, never vote for, never write a positive reference for, or never marry—all based on conduct in a debate round.  Far better to lose a ballot than lose your integrity, because, realistically, while you could easily go win the next round, integrity can never so easily be won back.  You need to know that lasting influence works two ways.

Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is to be more desired than great riches.”  

On the other hand, “The name of the wicked will rot.” (Proverbs 10:7)

Reason Two—Though it may look like a shortcut to success, trading your integrity for a winning ballot is actually a dead end because the standard is not mashed potatoes. 

Mashed Potatoes

Pragmatism is a really dangerous game to play, because it ultimately blurs the lines of what is right and true.  People who adopt a pragmatic approach to life see truth and right somewhat like a mushy glob of mashed potatoes.  They assume they can push it around, and mold it into whatever shape works to serve their immediate purposes.  They assume that if they bump into a standard it will yield to their pressure, that the standards are always changing, always negotiable, and only suggestions anyway.  However, inconvenient as it is for them, the real truth about what is right is nothing like mashed potatoes.  It is fixed and immovable, and ramming it leads, at best, to a really bad headache.

The nitty gritty

At this point, let’s dispense with generalities and talk about the nitty gritty.  What exactly are some of those standards that define honorable and less than honorable conduct?  God’s Old Testament book of Proverbs is one of the most straightforward explanations available, spelling out thousands of examples of the nitty gritty aspects of life, with pointed and potentially painful practicality.

Proverbs 11:1-- “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.”  What’s a false balance look like in the debate world?  The principle here is that deceptive twisting of facts to your own advantage invokes the Lord’s hatred and disgust.  On the other hand, He’s delighted when we represent the facts accurately.

Proverbs 11:2-- “When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom.” 

Proverbs 11:3-- “The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the falseness of the treacherous will destroy them.”  If you say the other side is illogical, you better be prepared to explain how.

Proverbs 11:17-- “The merciful man does himself good, but the cruel man does himself harm.”  Sly, underhanded, or mean-spirited attacks on another person (rather than critiquing an argument) and rudeness or merciless grilling in cross-examination will only come back to haunt you.

Proverbs 6:16 spells out seven things God hates:  

            Haughty eyes

            A lying tongue

            Hands that shed innocent blood

            A heart that devises wicked plans

            Feet that run rapidly to evil

            A false witness who utters lies  (If you say the other side didn’t respond to an argument, it better be true.)

            One who spreads strife among brothers

In addition to the above recipe for success that includes honesty, humility, integrity, and mercy, “A gentle answer turns away wrath.” (Proverbs 15:1)  And, “Sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.”  (Proverbs 16:21b)

No effective shortcut

That fact is that there is no shortcut to success.  The truly successful pay close attention to God’s standard. 

"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, 

but you shall meditate on it day and night, 

so that you may be careful to do 

according to all that is written in it; 

for then you will make your way prosperous, 

and then you will have success.” 

 Joshua 1:8

Are you still wondering why it sometimes looks like less than honorable conduct wins the day?  The faith-testing fact is that sometimes negative consequences are delayed.  But you can be sure consequences are still coming because God is the judge of the finals of life, and His standard is—you probably guessed it—nothing like mashed potatoes!

CHALLENGE TWO—If you do end up losing to less than honorable conduct, trust that God is sovereign and that He knows what He’s doing with every single ballot—even if you can’t imagine what it is that He’s up to.  The key is understanding that at the end of the day, ballots must add up to His purposes.  This subject—WHAT BALLOTS MUST ADD UP TO—is so incredibly important that I’ll be devoting Parts 8 & 9 to that.

But before that, in Part 7, I’m dying to tell you the story of someone you may have heard of, who just may be one of the greatest communicators of all time.  I’ve nicknamed him “THE INVISIBLE MAN.”