Last week I predicted that S.C. Governor Mark Sanford will resign his office.
As of this writing, Sanford has not resigned and is insisting that he will not. His position is that resignation would actually be an easy way out and that staying in office represents the more sure path to personal and spiritual growth.
He explored this thinking in a statement he posted on Facebook and emailed widely to his constituents in South Carolina.
I understand what Sanford is saying and I appreciate his struggle to use his public failing as a place from which to lead with more humility. I wish him well.
But Sanford will resign because he will realize that his apology remains incomplete because it did not include adequate restitution. The only restitution Sanford can offer is his resignation.
I say in my book that you can't talk your way out of a situation you acted your way into. Sanford's act will be to resign.
That doesn't mean his struggle to lead from a place of humility and integrity will end. In fact, resigning from the duties of governor will free to him to do the soul-building work before him.
He has a good shot at the growth he seeks if he remembers that powerful things happens when we tell the impeccable truth about ourselves.
By acknowledging, naming, and ultimately accepting his mistakes and their consequences, Sanford will embrace his humility and will make room for his true self, imperfect and all too human, just like everyone else.
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