“Rachel, all of… all this… It’s not me. It’s… Inside I am… I am more.”

“Bruce, deep down you may still be that same great kid you used to be, but it’s not who you are underneath. It’s what you do that defines you.”

It’s not often that I give Hollywood points for getting something right, but this quote from Chris Nolan’s Batman Begins was really good. We could summarize it this way: your actions determine your character. Now more than 20 years old, this simple truth has become increasingly rare in our therapy-driven culture. For example, the reason this movie quote came to mind recently was because of a comment our president made. In a media exchange, President Trump was asked several questions about the CEO of Nvidia admitting to having an affair with a Chinese spy. At one point in the back and forth, Trump made the following comment:

“I just know Jensen very well. I just think he’s a very honorable man.”

That is a truly stunning response. A man who cheated on his wife and in his carelessness may have leaked secrets to America’s global rival is an honorable man? The words we use matter, and they matter because words have meanings that we must respect or language is useless. What in the world does the word honorable even mean if we can use it of a man who cheats on his wife? Apparently, there are now new reports that Jensen Huang also had an affair with an employee. By the time you read this article, Huang may already be fired. Not very honorable.

This is part of a broader trend in our culture. It says something that the president thought he could confidently say that a serial adulterer was honorable and at least some people would believe him. That’s because many people today think of our character as somehow floating about, often largely unconnected to what we do. For many people who I am and what I do are not necessarily linked. Someone does something bad, or wrong, or even wicked, and you’ll hear people say something like, “You’re a good person” or “That’s not really who I am.” or “I just didn’t have a choice.” All of these are attempts to separate off the bad things I have done from my actual character. These clichés and tropes are sadly very common, and create the kind of space where a president can confidently call a man who cheated on his wife honorable.

What Does the Bible Say?

Well it’s nice that Batman thinks that our actions determine our character, but what does the Bible say? The Bible also makes a clear link between what we do and the kind of person we are. God will one day judge unbelievers on their works, not on who they are on the inside (Revelation 20:11-15). James makes it clear that we can say all we want about our faith, but until we put action behind our words they remain worthless (James 2:14-26). Jesus is clear that the fruit shows you the kind of tree, and the actions of a person show what is inside the heart of the person (Luke 6:43-45). The Bible knows nothing of some esoteric divide between who I am and what I do. Rather, who I am will be seen in what I do.

We can bring the Bible to bear specifically to evaluate the president’s comment. Scripture’s position couldn’t be clearer on the relationship between adultery and honor in Proverbs 6:32-33.

32 The one who commits adultery lacks sense;

whoever does so destroys himself.

33 He will get a beating and dishonor,

and his disgrace will never be removed.

According to Scripture, adultery is a sin that brings dishonor and disgrace that never fully go away. So no, a man who cheats on his wife is not an honorable man. To say that is to empty the word “honor” of any meaning and to directly contradict the clear message of Scripture.

None of this is said to gloat. We should pray for a family that has no doubt been deeply affected by all of this. We should pray for the offending party to take the hard path of humility and to find forgiveness and hope in Jesus. And of course we all must realize that we are made of the same stuff and that we too are capable of falling. Take heed lest ye fall. But we also can’t pretend. We can’t be so driven by compassion that we refuse to say what the Bible says. A man who cheats on his wife is not honorable. You aren’t a good person deep down even though you do bad things. You do bad things because you are a bad person. Fortunately, Jesus came to save and change bad people so that they look and act and think and live like Him. That’s the hope that remains for the CEO of Nvidia, and that’s the hope that we all need too.