For fear of appearing political, I've tried to avoid saying much about the situation our nation (the U.S.A.) has been in during the last couple of years. But during the last couple of weeks, (this article was written in the September 1998 ), I've been listening to the Washington spin doctors and the press commentators, and I've heard so much distortion of truth that I feel compelled to say some things to try to help us all keep the presidential crisis in perspective.
Truth is truth. In our post-modern culture, many people are denying that anything is absolutely true. There's just "my truth" and "your truth", and no objective truth against which to discern things. The Bible (and common sense) tell us that there is objective truth. God is a God of Truth, and to violate truth, whether by outright lying or artful dodges, is objectively wrong. Period. No society can survive long without a commitment to truth as a core value.
Sex is not an entirely private matter for anybody. If you think it is, consider how you'd respond to a house of prostitution moving next door to you. If it was consenting adults and they didn't put out signs or make a lot of noise, would you just say, "Well, it's their private business", and let it be ?. I don't think so. Sexual fidelity is one of the most critical commitments of marriage, and marriage the most critical commitment of family stability. Every act of unfaithfulness undermines our entire family and through our family, our entire culture. There is no sexual infidelity that is harmless. By nature, it is always damaging, both to the people involved and to a wider circle of family and others. Even if nobody gets caught, there is serious damage.
We have a right and an obligation to hold leaders to a high standard. Part of the price of any kind of leadership is a corresponding responsibility to live in ways that reflect the higher ideals of the people we lead. A few weeks ago, I had to attend a workshop on clergy sexual misconduct. If I didn't attend, I would lose my ministerial standing. A major point of the workshop was that the responsibility for preventing sexual misconduct, lies with the person in the stronger position in the relationship. Under Texas law, if I am involved in a consensual sexual relationship with a member of my church or someone under my care, in any way, I will be held legally responsible for the relationship, no matter how consensual it was or who initiated it. It is the responsibility of the leader to prevent "inappropriate relationships" and consent is not a defence. And it's not just preachers that it applies to; it applies to all people in leadership positions.
I don't presume to know how the presidential crisis should shake out. I don't see an outcome that would be very good at this point. But I've heard so many pundits babble about the relativity of truth, the idea that sex is an entirely private matter and the notion that if it is consensual, you aren't responsible for it, that I just had to speak out.
Pray for our nation (the U.S.A.). Pray for our President (Bill Clinton). Pray that what we're going through will bring us to a new appreciation for truth, fidelity and the responsibility of the leader. (With acknowledgement of the Source - First Christian Church, Panhandle, Texas, USA. Published in "Footnotes from the Fellowship", Vol. 2, Number 2, September 1998, by Disciples Heritage Fellowship, - Email - DHF109@aol.com - Web-Site - http://www.disciple-heritage.org
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