There has been a lot of talk lately about people in the spotlight who have made some bad decisions, hurt their families and bruised their reputations. I really enjoyed Michael Hyatt’s post on Monday about the difference between a sin and a mistake. I also liked Todd Rhoades’ post about how to take Anthony Weiner’s situation and learn from it so that we don’t make those same decisions. This is some of what he had to say while reflecting on Weiner’s actions:
Don’t defame Jesus by lying, cheating, scheming. Be truthful. Be 100% truthful. All the time. Even when it hurts. Even when you make a mistake. Even when it will certainly make you look bad, or silly, or cheap, or sinful. Be honest. Be transparent.
I was also really humbled by the Grace Evan blog post that reminds us not to judge. We are not smarter, more clever or less sinful than these people involved in the recent scandals.
Every morning on my way to work, I tune into one of the local morning talk shows to keep me entertained on my 30 minute drive. I’ll be honest, I don’t feel like a better person or more knowledgeable when I get out of the car, but I enjoy listening because the content can be so shocking. One day a week, this station will ask listeners to call in and talk about a confession that they have so that in return, they are eligible to win free concert tickets. I like to think that a lot of the stories are made up, but regardless of whether they are or not, the radio hosts always let the people know that they are not there to judge. They do a pretty good job of staying true to that, too.
The funny thing about all of this is that we are so intrigued when we hear about other people’s sins and mistakes and we are so comfortable sitting back and criticizing. The radio station encourages stories littered with bad decisions, but even they make the choice not to judge because they understand the consequences that come with sin and of ridiculing others.
There has always and will always be sin in this world. We need to take these stories and grow from them.