Wednesday, November 29, 2017

What are we Learning from the Sexual Misconduct Epidemic?

Here we go again.  Driving to work this morning I put on the radio and heard about the latest celebrity/politician/person in power to have lost his job due to sexual misconduct.  Perhaps this time it’s the biggest name of all; Matt Lauer.  He has been a part of many American’s morning routine for 20 years. The list of sexual deviants is getting hard to keep track of.  It seems like there’s been someone new every week for a few months now.  Frankly, some are easier to process than others.  Harvey Weinstein was easy.  He was just a name.  Then we all started seeing his face, and he kind of has a dirty old man look about him anyway.  But not Matt Lauer; he represents America as much as baseball and apple pie. 

I suppose if we’ve learned anything it’s that we shouldn’t be surprised by anyone.  But I hope we’ve learned more than just that.  I hope our country has learned some other lessons.  The one I’ve heard most is that we have a new found respect for women in the work place and all areas of life.  I for one, certainly hope that will be the case.  With all these accusations coming out I’d like to think men will think twice about their behaviors, and that’s a good thing.  But in the end I’m afraid that doesn’t address why men behave that way in the first place.  If only there were some teaching somewhere about our sexuality and relationships, and how to honor and respect the opposite sex.  Oh wait.  That’s right.  There is.  It’s called the bible; the very book that many in Hollywood who are so upset about all this sexual misconduct make a mockery of.  Only prudish Christians would follow that book right.  Well I’m sorry but I think it might give us a little better direction than what we are learning from our movies, TV, and music.  Our culture on the whole is a porn addicted, swipe right, hook-up culture, and it is greatly influenced by the entertainment industry.  My only point is if a whole industry does nothing but promote immoral living, than we shouldn’t be all that surprised when we see immoral sexual misconduct surface among those in that industry. 

I get that it’s not just Hollywood and the entertainment industry dealing with all this.  We can point to all types and all persuasions when it comes to this problem.  It’s just that when I look at Hollywood and the entertainment industry in general that old saying “you reap what you sow” comes to mind.  Actually that would be Galatians 6:7 - “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”  

Being respectful of women is a good place to start, but pulling that off is still going to be difficult for many men if they don’t first have a change of heart.  And that change of heart comes from committing your life to the God of the bible.  God has shown us how to honor, respect, and love others through His son Jesus Christ.  God has shown us the proper context for sexual relations within the confines of marriage.  That might sound fuddy-duddy to some, but if we were all following God’s direction in this area there would be no sexual misconduct.  I can’t help but wonder what all those people who were making fun of Mike Pence and his rules for being alone with women think now.  Those rules have helped him honor God, honor his wife, and honor other women.  There’s nothing wrong with that. And as long as he keeps following those rules you will see no sexual misconduct coming from our Vice President.  It’s my sincere hope and prayer that some folks will make the connection from their behavior to a God who loves them and created them and who want’s what’s best for them in their relationships. Then and only then will we start to see true change.      



Thursday, November 23, 2017

Boycotting Boycotts

That’s it!  I’m fed up.  I am outraged by all the outrage.  I’m done.  I am boycotting boycotts.  What brought me to this decision you ask?  The other day I was sharing on Facebook my frustration with the quality of Starbucks breakfast sandwiches and after some lighthearted banter one of my friends chimed in with “I don’t go to Starbucks at all because of the C.E.O.’s view on Christians.”  So much for our lighthearted banter.  Don’t get me wrong.  As most reading this know, I am a Christian myself, and I’m sure I wouldn’t be very thrilled about whatever the Starbucks C.E.O. has to say about Christians.  But can I be honest for a moment?  Deep down, I really don’t care what he has to say.  I just want a good cup of coffee and a decent breakfast sandwich (turns out I have to go down the road to Dunkin Donuts to get the latter).  Maybe that makes me shallow.  Maybe that means I don’t care enough.  I don’t know.  But the more I think about it, if I’m going to boycott every company that might go against my Christian faith in some way shape or form, I may not have a lot of options left.  Just for fun I decided to google “Companies Christians should boycott” and I came across an article listing 132 companies to stay away from, and for good measure it gave me 42 celebrities not to support.  Who has the time?!?  And if I’m going to make a list of companies to boycott, Starbucks might fall pretty far down that list.  What about Nike, and all those other companies that have been known for using child labor?  I should probably start there.  From what I hear, shopping for clothes in an ethical manner can become a very difficult task.  So for me to boycott Starbucks and the occasional other company that disagrees with my Christian perspective on the latest social issue just feels a little inconsistent.  I feel like I should either be all in or not bother with boycotting at all.  Since I don’t have the time or energy to be all in, I think for now I will just go with not boycotting at all…… but if it's alright with you I'm still going to frequent my favorite Christian restaurant, Chick-Fil-A.