Heart Healthy Words

In light of the recent revelations from Governor Mark Sanford, I considered offering a litany of philandering politicians over the last two decades.  The list would have taken most of the blog space.  So I settled on three.  In 1987, presidential candidate Gary Hart challenged the media to follow him.  They did and photos followed of a young beauty named Donna Rice sitting the lap of Senator Hart.  Days later, Hart withdrew from the presidential race. 

In 1998, we heard the infamous line, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman . . . Miss Lewinsky!"  Well, the truth is that president Clinton DID have a sexual relationship with her, much to the chagrin of his family and faithful defenders.  In 2009, Governor Sanford tells his staff that he'll be hiking the Appalachian Trail for a few days to "clear his head."  What we found out days later was that He had been out of the country visiting a paramour and had lied to his staff. 

 What did all three of these high-profile individuals have in common?  The same thing that changed Moses' life in the second chaper of Exodus.  He went out one day to see the burdensome work that the Hebrew slaves endured.  After all, he was a Hebrew, even though he had been raised as the grandson of the Egyptian king.  At some point during his walk, he came upon an Egytian who was severely beating a Hebrew man.  The Bible tells us that Moses "looked this way and that way and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand."  (Exodus 2:12)   

The next day, Moses tried to stop two Hebrew men who were fighting.  One of them asked, "What are you going to do?  Kill us like you killed the Egyptian?"   Moses' secret had been uncovered and he had to flee from Egypt and spend 40 years in exile. 

Most of us are not high-profile individuals like Moses or polticians or sports figures.  But we all have similar weaknesses.  Temptations come to us all.  Temptations are NOT tests from God.  James 1:13-14 says "When tempted, no one should say 'God is tempting me.'  For God cannot be tempted by evil nor does He tempt anyone;  but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed."    In other words,when Satan tempts us at points where we are weak, we make a choice.   What was it that Hart, Clinton, Sanford and Moses had in common?  They looked this way and that way and seeing no one, they chose to sin. 

We're all susceptible to temptation.  We all must battle the evil desires and baser nature that lie to us and tell us that sin is OK.  We must recognize that temptation does NOT come from the God Who loves us, but from the Evil One who wants to destroy us.  We must realize that though sin might offer some temporal pleasure, there is always a price to pay.    A career, credibility, or family are just some of the things we stand to lose. 

The lesson to learn from Moses and the philandering politicians is simple.   If you're considering doing something and you have to look this and that way to make sure no one is looking, don't do it!  In I Corinthians 10:13, Paul wrote, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to all men.  And God is faithfulo; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up to it."   Temptations WILL come.  Don't look for a way to yield.  Look for the way out.

One final word of grace:  I John 2:1-2    My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.  But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense --- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.  He is the atoning Sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours, but also for the sins of the whole world.