Realities Behind the Sexual Harassment Avalanche

It seems that by the hour, new allegations of sexual misconduct are being discovered among powerful and elite men once considered paragons of prestige. It is a never-ending avalanche! These discoveries have caused shock and outrage around the nation.  While such responses are understandable and appropriate, there is a huge disconnect between our current moral outrage and the patterns of behavior we have applauded for almost 50 years.  We seem to believe that it is possible to embrace moral ambiguity and nonchalance regarding fidelity,  chastity and honor while simultaneously expecting people to suddenly exercise moral restraint within the parameters of codes that have been mocked for decades. It is farcical. 

We now want to call out Hugh Hefner - now that he's dead.  After all, dead men tell no tales, and an attack on "Hef" during his long life surely carried corresponding risks of undesired exposure.  In addition, we now want to express moral outrage at behavior we as a society have celebrated in the arts, in entertainment, in our humor and in our philosophies since the advent of the sexual revolution. Of course, it is righteous that evil be exposed and that predators be brought to social and legal justice.  It is, however, hypocritical to act as if we really cared before the evil within our gates was exposed to the light of day, and placed beyond the pretense of plausible deniability.

Evil doesn't stay hidden forever and hypocrisy tends to get exposed.  This rash of exposures reminds me of the many cases of preachers brought to light who were involved in covert sexual harassment in the 1980's. Two verses come to mind in reflecting on those days:

"... be sure your sin will find you out." Numbers 32:23 and "For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:17

Many laughed and heckled those preachers as other Christians wept.  Now that judgement is spreading beyond the ranks of the church, the laughter is subsiding. We all have work to do!

Understanding the hypocrisy of our ways, we must do more than lament the evil. We must recognize that we can never address the many divisions within our nation that have resurfaced with amazing ferocity as long blatant hypocrisy advances unchecked throughout the country in the shadows. We must embrace and cling to the good, exercising what Jesus followers call the Fruit of the Spirit of God which includes attributes like love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness and self control. If we scoff at this new and living way, failing to "get right" "for real," our current lamentations will only be the beginning of a longer and sadder trail of suffering, pain and shame. 

We must all be committed to making things right, standing with others who are courageously paying a very heavy toll for bringing truth to light. While the developments of recent days could be beneficial for our national soul, I am not particularly optimistic about the outcome. Nevertheless,  we must continue to face the truth, calling those who have fallen to repentance and transformation, recognizing that without a moral compass that redirects and brings forth change, all our lamentations are for nought. We must also work to  comfort, compensate and empower those who have suffered the grievous wrongs that plague us, and work to transform the culture that has allowed such evil to thrive in the shadows. We must drive on in faith, determination, humility, and perseverance as long as the Lord gives us ability.  Nothing less will suffice.