Every Secret Thing

I respected him as a father and husband. I admired his political and moral views. But today ... today I am embarrassed for him. I am disappointed in him and even angry. I have lost respect for him. And my heart aches for his wife, children and extended family. I'm talking about Josh Duggar, the eldest son of the 19 Kids And Counting TLC reality show parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. Several months ago it was revealed Josh had molested his younger sisters when he was a young teen. It seemed like he and his parents had gone through the appropriate channels to both punish and educate their son and protect and comfort their children. He seemed to put that behind him and make better choices through his life. However, he secretly opened two accounts at the adultery-encouraging website known as Ashley Madison. Hackers recently released account information to the public (which the Ashley Madison folks denied could happen), Scarlet-Lettering marriage-destroying folks to the world. The fact that this site had 37 million followers thoroughly repulses me. Their goal was destruction of marriages and families, and now with this high-and-dry exposure, that will certainly happen. What a sad and sorry state these men and women have put their relationships and family into. What prompts a husband or wife to sign up to purposefully cheat on their spouse? It makes me absolutely sick.

And here's a guy, Josh, who has a beautiful wife, precious children, a family that loves the Lord, fame in a reality show that espouses faith and values, a career in morality, plenty of money - he's got everything - and it's just not enough. He decides to commit adultery, which he claims started with an addiction to pornography.

You know, we have this Father in Heaven who has created this beautiful institution called marriage and gifted those couples with love making, and for some folks that isn't good enough. They take what is good and make it evil, as mankind has been doing for thousands of years. I read one women comment on pornography as "natural and a reality." Say what?! There is no way God intended for people to be exploited in this manner. And its effects on marriage and love making are catastrophic. It is not okay. It's disgusting and destructive.

My children, you must understand that these vows you take ... they are legit. They are binding in the eyes of the Father. Adultery is a sin, one with consequences like the destruction of marriage, separating families and losing trust. Remember when we talked about how Adam and Eve, by disobeying God and eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, didn't learn about good? They already knew good in the Garden of Eden. What they learned in their disobedience was evil. By opening doors to things like pornography and adultery websites, you are learning about evil. Why would you ever want to learn about that?

I am begging you to please be wise in your choices. Shield your eyes from things that tempt you. Focus on your faith. Love your spouses. Remember the vows you make. Be a person of integrity and respect. I promise you Satan will never let up on you, so be armored up. Take delight in the beauty and good that God has given you. Remember King Solomon, who had it all, commented at the end of his book Ecclesiastes in 12:13-14, "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." It appears God has indeed brought the people of Ashley Madison's secret things into judgment.

You have been blessed to find someone you love more than anyone else in the world. Cherish and nurture that always. Be obedient to the Lord. Christ promised us that He came so that we may have life abundantly (John 10:10) and that comes from obeying His voice. That is our prayer for you ... obedience and an abundant life. It's so worth it.

Discussion: What are your thoughts on adultery and pornography? What are things you can do to prevent yourself from being tempted?

Prayer: Father, we live in a broken world, which you so graciously gave yourself up for. Father, I pray that your children, the ones who say they belong to you, will remember to be obedient to you and will shut the door, close their eyes and cover their ears to prevent exposing themselves to evil. We ask this in Jesus' name, Amen.