Dudes

I took a swing at John Edwards in a blog-post the other day. It was easy. While I think the folks on Mythbusters might suggest that shooting fish in a barrel is no easy feat, that's what came to mind as I considered the Senator's meteoric crash.

Such digs end up making me feel like the fly-cloaked jackal that scrounges for any magotty kill his attuned schnoz might pick up. That kill could have been me.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

And so I have escaped into the brush, knowing that the lion has had his fill but will be hungry again...and soon.

For the ladies whose eyes pound across these lines, what follows is for your man. You're welcome to read on as it might give you a glimpse into the inner workings of us men and the jackals we are prone to be, but this is intended for him.

As I tell my kids, you can always serve as a bad example. While I'd prefer to not make the mistakes, I'll not hide them before my sons and daughters for they might just learn from my error and steer themselves clear in the future. John Edwards has most recently served us all as a bad example.

And but for the grace of God, I would be the carcass that the press and the bloggers had picked clean. Or maybe it would have been you.

Why do you think God included the details about David and Bathsheba? The Lord could have used the shorthand that He used in other places. He could have said, "David did wickedly when his troops were out at war and brought the judgment of God upon his household." Nope, God gave us details that would make President Clinton empathetic.

And what about the father who seems stuck in the proverbial run in Proverbs who cried out to his son over and over, warning him about the lethality sexual sin?

• Proverbs 2:16-19
• Proverbs 5
• Proverbs 6:20-29
• Proverbs 7

The man starts out his advice to his son contrasting wisdom and folly and quickly segues into the epic destruction of the one who dallies with the debs.

Why David's details? Why these warnings? Because I AM PRONE.

Brother, YOU ARE PRONE.

Repetition is the Jewish exclamation point. Paul, dude that he was, knowing that he was prone, and knowing that God wickered all men similarly, wrote the same thing to three different audiences.

• "Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body." (1 Corinthians 6:18...6:12-20 is all spot on...to a church with major sexual problems)
• "Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." (2 Timothy 2:22 - particular poignant knowing that this was Paul's final letter to the young pastor)
• "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality..." (1 Thessalonians 4:3...4:1-8 is all superb on this topic...to a church in the flower of its spiritual youth and planted amidst the hedonism of ancient Greece.)

Run away! Elsewhere, Paul encourages folks to stand firm in resistance against the devil (Ephesians 6:10-14), but NOT when it comes to this issue. Sexual temptation (movies, magazines, memories, or the real thing) will wipe us out before we even realize we needed a defense.

Please note the severity of Christ's example

John Edwards, a beautiful wife. David, King of Israel, lots of beautiful wives. "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Both ensnared like the laddies in Proverbs. They became zombies, drugged by the fatal allure of sexual opportunity.

How fast did it happen to David? One night. Was David looking for it? Doesn't sound like it.

His sin of the flesh took him deeper into deceit and corruption. And so for the former presidential hopeful. John Edwards betrayed his wife at her deepest time of need and lied to our nation.

But for the grace of God...

Men, we are the husbands of one wife. One. No other. There are millions who will catch your eye, but yours must be fixated upon your bride alone. Millions will find you or what you do compelling. The only opinion that needs to shiver your spine is your brides.

Married or unmarried, the onus is upon us to keep the marriage bed pure. Keep it pure for your bride or your future bride. Protect the hearts of our sisters in Christ and especially the hearts of those lassies who do not know Jesus as Savior. The greatest gift we can give to men we will likely never meet is to honor, respect, and protect these women who are their daughters or who are their sisters or who one day may be their bride.

We must ignore the flirtatious or lingering look we receive, and we must NEVER give it. If one comes your way, run away! Beware the touch, the look, or the comment that makes your heart's RPM kick it up a notch. Run away!

So, God includes the example of David as the classic bad example. God, through the media, has given us a fresher bad example in John Edwards. Will we never learn?

But for the grace of God...and snug up your running shoes.