Politics

Chuck Colson vs. Mark Felt: Who’s the Hero?

Did you know that Chuck Colson went to prison for the very thing that “Deep Throat” is being lauded as a hero (click here)? Both men broke the law by leaking confidential FBI files to reporters. Both men’s crimes eventually came to light. Yet Colson went to prison, while “Deep Throat” (a.k.a. Mark Felt) got a pension. It seems so strange, therefore, that the big question on everybody’s mind is whether Mark Felt is a hero. Hardly.
In this Jan. 20, 1958 picture, Salt Lake FBI chief Mark Felt shows off his pistol skills. Breaking a silence of 30 years, Felt stepped forward Tuesday, March 31, 2005, as Deep Throat, the secret source to the Washington Post that helped bring down President Nixon during the Watergate scandal. (AP Photo/Deseret Morning News, Howard Moore)

So who is the real hero? Watergate was a national tragedy in which the whole nation got to see that some of its greatest generation had feet of clay. But God turned the scandal into a moment of sweet redemption for one of the villains, Chuck Colson. While in prison, Colson was born again into a new life of faith in the One who came to seek and save those who are lost. Chuck Colson never went back to politics but began a ministry to prisoners all around the world. Chuck Colson is not the hero, nor would he claim to be. The real hero is the One who takes broken men and puts them back together again. This One has become Colson’s hero, and He’s mine too.

2 Comments

  • Anonymous

    Just like Joseph said to his brothers in Genesis 50.19-20, “But Joseph said to them, Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

    God meant it for good for Chuck Colsonm he has a plan for all of us.

  • Marc

    I was also thinking of Mr. Colson as a modern-day Joseph, although he is not in the upper-echelons of government today. He does give a good witness of the results when someone humbles himself before God.

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