What is “demonstrated unreliability?
Long ago, one of my husband’s classmates was in a minor automobile accident after an evening spent bowling. He swerved to miss something and ended up in a ditch. The police pulled the car out but detained him. He’d had a few too many beers.
I didn’t think much of it thirty-some years ago until my husband wondered if the ensign would be thrown out of the Navy’s nuclear power program.
“Over a minor accident that didn’t damage anything? Why would it make a difference?” I wasn’t excusing drunk driving, I’m not even sure he was at the limit.
“Demonstrated unreliabilty,” my ensign replied. “We don’t take chances with people who like to push the rules. In the nuclear world you need to be perfect because the danger–politically as well as physically–is so high.”
That was my introduction to “demonstrated unreliabilty”–a person’s choices and actions demonstrating they could not be trusted.
The thinking went, if this individual could not control himself in an obvious and simple situation–his wife could have driven–how will he behave in a crisis situation or one where more is at stake than a potential auto accident?
Military members understand the need to be able to depend on somone–no matter the circumstances. Someone who demonstrates unreliability, whether in drinking, munitions, operating a power plant or personally, is someone whom you cannot count on when the chips are down. Do you want to leave your life in that person’s hands in a dangerous situation?
Jesus talked about this concept in Luke 16:10 when he said, “he who is faithful in little is also faithful in much; and he who is unjust in little is unjust also in much.”
Your mother probably told you, “actions speak louder than words.”
Perhaps your father warned, “watch what they do, not what they say.”
In Bridging Two Hearts, Amy’s relationship with men was compromised when the one man she should have trusted–her father– abandoned her on a bridge. She struggled to trust men after learning as a child that a person’s word wasn’t necessarily good–that they may not follow through on what they promised. Her father demonstrated his unreliability and his “betrayal” colored her life.
Her attitude toward Josh, a Navy SEAL, changed, however, when he assumed responsibility for her safety the first time he drove her car. He checked out the features, kicked the flattening tire, held the door open for her and made sure someone knew where she was when she rode with him.
By so doing, he demonstrated his reliability, which caused her trust in him to grow.
We live in a society where people don’t honor their commitments; indeed, where many of us don’t RSVP, perhaps to keep our options open, perhaps because we don’t want to be held accountable for a yes or a no.
While not RSVP-ing may not seem as big an issue as driving while intoxicated or not operating a nuclear power plant to spec, is it that little a thing?
US Navy photo
What is our word really worth?
How do we demonstrate our reliability?
Tweetables:
What is demonstrated unreliability? Click here to tweet.
Nice! I like this one!
The only time I’ve ever heard the term used was in the Army. Myself and some others for my unit had just been promoted to E-5. One guy didn’t get the promotion. This was the reason they used. He had a habbit of doing things his way, and messing up equipment. In the eyes of the promo board, he wasn’t leadership material because he couldn’t be relied upon.
I wasn’t a believer then, so ““he who is faithful in little is also faithful in much; and he who is unjust in little is unjust also in much.” wasn’t something I was familiar with. But now that I am, this makes perfect sense. It’s as true now, as it was then.
Funny, how Jesus’ words are so appropriate in so many situations. We also see a lot of “they did what was right in their own eyes,” which plays a similar role.
This was an excellent blog post and I loved how you showed what you did in your book to show this theme. Looking forward to reading the book!