‘He who is without sin, cast the first stone’ John 8:7
No individual in this world is more exposed
to judgment than a born again person. Whether they are leaders in the church or
just another saved face in the crowd. And no one is more highly targeted by
Satan than the children of God.
Ask just about anybody who is born again,
what is the very first thing that happened to them right after they confessed
and repented from their sins and surrendered their life to Christ. Did they
grow wings and a halo? Did they have visions of heaven and hear the hallelujah
choirs? Chances are their answer will be quite far from that. In fact, for most
new believers the very first thing that will happen is temptation.
See, the moment we decide to leave the world
behind to follow Jesus, we become the most coveted target for Satan. If we are
no longer in his team, he will do whatever it takes to make sure we stumble and fall. The Bible says that ‘the thief comes not but
for to steal, to kill and to destroy’ (John 10:10). Satan wants to steal our
joy, kill our efforts and destroy our relationship with Jesus Christ. Satan
will tempt us with food, money, material possessions, sex, drugs, alcohol,
whatever the eye can see and the mind can imagine. He will make us think about
the past we left behind and, much like he did Eve in the Garden of Eden, he
will make us wonder if God really said we couldn’t do that anymore. He will
make us reason through the most obscure desires and help us find a way to
justify why we should just do whatever it is we’re thinking of. And then we
find ourselves in a tug of war between our flesh and our spirit. He does all
that and more, KNOWING, that
much like a goldfish in a fish bowl, the world will be watching, ready for to judge.
The Bible calls us (born again believers) saints,
and rightfully so, for we have been sanctified by the blood of Christ. But that
is not what the world understand of the word. Many think that a saint is
somebody who has never sinned and has special powers to intercede and heal and
work miracles and wonders even after death. In reality, there is no such thing.
A saved person and an unbeliever are both sinners,
and the only difference between the
two is grace.
One has accepted the grace of Jesus Christ
and the other one hasn’t. When one sins he or she is convicted of the sin and
they know to repent because the Bible says that ‘If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness! (1 John 1:9) When the other one sins, he or she laughs it off,
shrugs his or her shoulders off and goes on living their life thinking ‘I’ve
done nothing wrong’. One holds on to the promises of Christ, the other holds on
to the next opportunity to sin.
God called David ‘a man after my own heart’,
even though He knew David would one day fall. David’s sin of sexual immorality
even drove him to murder, and yet, God forgave him. Sure, there were
consequences, plenty and for the rest of his life. But David never lost the love of God, and he knew it.
When David was made aware of his sin by the prophet Nathan, the first thing he
did was humble himself before God and ask for forgiveness.
“Have
mercy upon me oh God, according to your loving-kindness. According to the
multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly
from my iniquities and cleanse me from my sin, for I acknowledge my
transgressions and my sin is ever before me…”
Psalm 51:1-3
David got a married woman pregnant, then killed
her husband later on to cover up his sin. Everyone in Israel knew about David’s
faith. God had proven Himself time and time again through him. Surely when he
fell the nation watched and judged.
When news broke that Joshua Duggar spent the
last two years being unfaithful to his wife, in addition to having harassed five
younger females years ago, including his own sisters, America watched and judged. Here is the oldest of the
Duggar family, 19 Kids and Counting, thoroughly humiliated in the sight of
everyone, for doing no different than President Kennedy, President Clinton,
King Edward VIII, Prince Charles, Solomon, King David and a host of thousands
of men all over the world who have fallen victim to the weaknesses of the flesh! When the world finds out about them, they glamorize
and romanticize their behavior. They write books about their love affairs and
movies by the load! And the world can’t get enough!
But when Joshua did the same thing, somehow he is called a ‘monster’.
Really? In a world where babies are being
harvested out of their mother’s wombs for ‘research’, where little girls are
being forced into sex slavery and children into terrorist training camps, a
world where adultery, nudity and sensuality are fed, daily, in the minds of millions
via the entertainment industry, a world that falls short of calling pornography
‘art’, somehow in this world of filth and immorality Joshua Duggar is ‘a monster’.
And all I can think about is that, apparently I must have missed the memo
that we live in a country that is actually packed with perfect,
pure, holy and sinless people! Else they wouldn’t be judging. Right?
Facebook posts like ‘Wow!; I am not
surprised; he is such a hypocrite; his wife should just leave him; I knew this
would happen; and he calls himself a Christian’, are just the tip of the iceberg
on the long and detailed list of adjectives used to describe a man who, for all
accounts and purposes, represents men in many households in
America, including Christian homes. No wonder Jesus said "by their fruits" you will know them.
The same people that have cast judgment upon
him watch the same filthiness on TV and the internet, and do the same things
when no one is watching. They just don’t think they qualify to be described as
monsters because to them they are doing nothing wrong, which apparently makes
it ok for them to sin in the same way but not be judged. Boy, does God have
news for them!
“Therefore, you are inexcusable,
oh man, whosoever you are that judge; for wherein you judge another you condemn yourself, for you
that judge do the same things”
Romans
2:1
Lust is one of the most common temptation
Satan uses. Sex is everywhere! Television producers manage to include it in
anything from ads for cars, to traveling, to even cooking! The Naked Chef
anyone? What does nudity has to do with cooking? Even if the show has nothing
to do with nudity, the use of the word ‘naked’ suggests otherwise. It is
nothing but a mind game. Show titles like Deviant Maids, Naked and Afraid,
Pawnstars, Hardcore Pawn are only used to suggest something other than what the
show is really all about. Even female superhero characters are always portrayed
as the sexy, curvy, long leg, tiny waist, big chest girl only Barbie can truly
appreciate!
So many people judging Josh, while they
themselves are filled of the same desires and are carrying out the very same ‘monstrosities!
The Duggars never painted themselves as perfect. Ever. On the contrary, there
have been numerous times when Michelle Duggar said in the show that her family
was far from perfect. And it takes a lot to admit to anyone, let alone an entire nation, that one is not only not perfect, but a sinner. That is not hypocrisy
that is humility.
I hope no one in my family dares to point the
finger at Josh or anyone in the Duggar family, for anything other than to say
they can relate! Because none of us are perfect! Even if our sins are not like
his, the amount of poor choices, lapse in judgement and mistakes we have
managed to performed collectively as a family over the years, does not qualify either one of
us to ever look at another in disbelief for their shortcomings!
The only thing I hope is that we all can
remember that once upon a time we were just like Josh, that even though we have been saved by grace, we too have fallen, but when we fall, if we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness! (1 John 1:9) I hope we can remember that our mistakes did
not make us monsters, only humans. And I hope we can all remind others when they
open their mouths around us to cast judgment against him, that they too are
simply no better. That perhaps before they try to point at the spec in Josh’s
eye they should first try removing the beam out of theirs so they can better
see what exactly it is they are doing. I hope we can be humble enough to not
walk around thinking: that is him, this is me, he is a loser, I am much better.
Because when all things are weight in the balance the plain and simple truth is that we have all sinned, and fall
short of the glory of God! Romans 3:23
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,)
dwells no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that
which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not:
but the evil which I would not, that I do.” Romans
7:18-19
