This week we all heard about a hacker group that released the names of the users of an Internet service called Ashley Madison, which is set up to help people have an extramarital affair. There has been shock and horror as names of Christians have been released. Maybe we need to stop and take a look at what has brought us here and maybe the shock will become grief and hopefully repentance.
The group that claims responsibility said they wanted the site shut down. Apparently they think it's a bad idea for people to have an affair. The problem is they need to be working on shutting down the porn industry, that would definately be David and Goliath. The porn industry in this country is huge, in size, influence and income. The amount of money brought in by pornography is staggering and we may never fully know the extent. It's said that 50 to 75% of men have a pornography addiction and the rate is quickly rising among women. 1 in 2 Christian men is addicted to porn, that includes Pastors, Elders and Deacons. The problem is so much bigger than Ashley Madison.
Combine that with the soft porn that is all over media, and you have hyper-sexualization. My boys can't even walk to the video game store in the mall without seeing the Victoria Secret pictures in the mall. Teenage girls are wearing tiny bikinis that were once only worn in raunchy college movies. The problem is out of control and way bigger than Ashley Madison.
Satan has two huge weapons, lust and greed and they are together in this country to create a mine field. Marriage as it stands today is bombarded with attacks. I have seen numbers that 50% of marriages report some sort of infidelity. That is report, who knows how high the actual numbers are. Combine that with the porn addiction of many men and women, the promiscuity of our population and the greed of Internet porn industries, and Ashley Madison is born, and of course it's successful. It's the next stage in our depravity. People want to have the dangerous and erotic and now there is a business to help you do it. The hackers may have released the names of the users, but the company won't go away. How do I know? I see people arrested for prostitution in my local paper, but there are still prostitutes in my town. I see people arrested for drugs and drinking and bad behavior, and they continue to do those things.
What do we do in response to finding Christians and Christian leaders on Ashley Madison? We realize the problem is much closer than we want to admit. We would like to say the issue is in Vegas and New Orleans and San Francisco. It's not, it exists in the small towns, in the Heartland, in the Bible Belt, in the church. It exists in your home, soft porn is finding it's way in through the TV, magazines, Internet and all over sources of media. We must resist it, pray against it and hold it at bay with all we can muster, but don't be deceived. We cannot assume that this reality won't enter our homes, our lives. The individual who says they will never have an affair is often the first to fall when temptation comes along, and it will come. Let's be aware, let's be vigalent and let's pray for one another. Lust and greed are ever where, and the temptation is great. We need God!
This! We are afraid to spill our secrets for fear of judgement by others in our church family. This is THE very place where should be the most safe to be the most open and vulnerable. We are all sinners of every stripe and vice saved by the same blood.
ReplyDeleteIt is no wonder we have a faith problem in the church: we have little opportunity to praise God for His blood bought grace which completely covers the sins of His people.
Hiding our struggles and failures in an attempt to be acceptable to mankind gives Satan a foothold in a faith-weakened and a faith-weekend church. It also lends credence to the world's general view that the church is full of hypocrisy.
We of all people should understand the depths of our depravity and that is why we can glorify Jesus that "He saved a wretch like me.". We should encourage confession among each other. Not so we can be surprised (should we ever be surprised at sin?), rather we should see it as an opportunity for worship that the blood of Jesus also covers this.