by Rev. Joda Collins
There once was a man who liked women. He liked women a lot. He liked women so much it got the best of him. He made a terrible mistake that he will probably never live down. It was recorded for the whole world to know about.
He said some things and did some things that he should not have said or done. When he was caught he was embarrassed and humiliated. His initial response was repentance. Some believed he really repented and some did not. Some believed he repented but they did not care. Some continue to trust him after his failure and some did not. However, everyone was shocked.
This man's name was King David. The woman he had his eye on was Bathsheba. 2 Samuel 11.
God has something to say about King David. God called him "a man after my own heart". Acts 13:22 states, "After removing Saul, he (God) made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'" Parenthesis mine.
What made King David a man after God's own heart was not the fact that he sinned with Bathsheba, but that he repented of his sin. "For the sake of your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great." Psalm 25:11.
Whether we like it or not or admitted or not, everyone sins. When people justify their sins or lie about their sins, I refer to those people as Clintonian.
There is another well-known man who admitted to committing adultery in his heart. His name is President Jimmy Carter. No one ever asked him if he repented. To the best of my knowledge, he never said he did.
There is another well-known man who has a long history of sexual encounters with women other than his wife. When this man was asked about his sexual sins he said he committed sexual sin because he could. In his own words, "Because I can." This man has given no evidence of repentance. This man's name is President Bill Clinton.(1).
President John F. Kennedy was reported to have engaged in extramarital affairs with Marilyn Monroe, Angie Dickinson, Blaze Starr, Priscilla Weir, and Jill Cowen. President John F. Kennedy never repented, as far as I know.
President Lyndon Johnson once bragged that he had more women by accident then John F. Kennedy had on purpose.(2). President Lyndon Johnson never repented.
While it might come as a shock, George Bush 41 and George Bush 43 were accused of extramarital affairs. Bush 43 was accused of rape in 2003.
Most men struggle greatly with sexual purity; always have and always will. That's just the way men are when they are not committed to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. It is estimated that over 90% of men have engaged and/or do engage in sex outside of marriage.(3).
I doubt there is a man alive or dead who is or was completely innocent of inappropriate sexual conduct, thought or speech. It is not unusual to find a man who has failed in sexual purity. It is unusual to find a man who admits it, shows remorse for it and repents of it. That man is a candidate for a man after God's own heart. Donald Trump is such a man.
Just to be clear, those who yell the loudest and longest about the sexual sins of others are most often those who are more guilty of sexual sins than the one they complain about or chide with enthusiasm. Notice the words, "they persisted", below.
John 8:4-9 reads, "Teacher, we caught this woman in the act of adultery. In his teachings, Moses ordered us to stone women like this to death. What do you say?"....Then he (Jesus) bent down and used his finger to write on the ground....They persisted in asking him questions, he straightened up and said, "The person who is sinless should be the first to throw a stone at her." Then he bent down again and continued writing on the ground. One by one, beginning with the older men (oldest man)...(they) left. Jesus was alone with the woman." (GW Translation.) (Parenthesis mine.)
Have you ever wondered what Jesus was writing in the dirt? I will tell you. He was writing the names of the women with whom these men had committed adultery or raped, one by one beginning with the oldest man. I can envision Jesus writing a woman's name or women's names in the dirt, then looking at the oldest man until that man left. Then the next and the next until all were gone.
Beware of the men and women who complain the most and the loudest about Donald Trump and what he said in 2005. In Jesus' day (at least in the account of John 8) 100% of those who yelled loud and long were the greater sinners. I doubt the percentage has changed much in the last 2,000 years.
If a person repents, what should be a Christian's response? Forgiveness? Yes. Luke 17:3-4. Matthew 18:15. The wicked refuse to forgive. Matthew 18:21-35.
Listen carefully for those who call for judgment and lack of forgiveness towards a repentant individual. Those are dangerous, hate-filled people. They are unlike God and exactly like Satan.
References
(1). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton_sexual_misconduct_allegations
| en.wikipedia.org Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States (1993-2001), has been publicly accused by several women of sexual misconduct. Juanita Broaddrick has accused ... |
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