The Times— Are they A-Changin’?

@rickblumenberg

Back in the 1940s the President of the United States betrayed his wife and his nation by living in an adulterous relationship with another woman. Presidents and other politicians have been notorious sexual predators who preyed on the women who worked for them and who (even if they wanted to do so) did not have the personal power to resist their abuse.

Examples abound of presidents who were an embarrassment to their gender and a clear and present danger to every woman with whom they came in contact. Presidents have done things that would have caused them to be thrown in the brig and drummed out of the service if they had been either officers or enlisted men in the military they led as Commander-in-Chief.

President Donald Trump was thoroughly embarrassed by a comment he made to Billy Bush an NBC-TV program host more than a decade ago. When it was revealed he sort of apologized, but then excused his comment as being “just locker-room talk”. I can’t totally disagree with that. I have heard things said by men I considered Christian that embarrassed me even though they seemed to think it was okay.

Locker Room Talk has consequences.

Words, like behavior, have a tendency to impact the people in whose presence they occur. Bad behavior can disgust some who see it and reinforce their desire to do better, but it can also encourage some to emulate the bad and cause the group behavior to spiral downward to unprecedented lows. When the Commander-in-Chief is a sexual predator it is easy for generals on down to sergeants to think it is okay for them to behave the same.

But it seems people are fed up

I’m not sure why. Perhaps the disgusting behavior of a Hollywood executive who allegedly preyed on scores of beautiful women simply because he had power over them to make or break their careers, was enough to push America over the edge until we were willing to say, “That is enough!”

I hope that’s reality. On the other hand it may also be because he was not a “pretty” man. He didn’t have the charisma or good looks of a John Kennedy or a Bill Clinton. Perhaps women all over America thought of what it would be like to be attacked by a man like him and the revulsion caused them to speak up. Or maybe we’re realizing that sexual predation never has a pretty face if you get below the mask.

Maybe the times are changing

It is easy to say the world is getting worse and worse when we look at this kind of behavior and then add racism, bigotry, bullying or other such atrocious behavior.

Maybe God is at work in our world

We know God is at work, but could it be that perhaps the prayers of the saints and the move of the Spirit of God in the hearts of sinful man is getting ready to do something special in our midst?

Will we be leaven in society?

The work of the kingdom is not to conquer by force of arms, but to penetrate society with the love and grace of God as we live out the life of Christ in home, church and workplace. Unfortunately, there have been times when we followers of Christ have failed miserably at letting Christ lead. We have acted more like the society in which we live (including predatory sexual behavior) instead of letting Christ transform us as a starting place to transform society.

Could it be we’re fed up?

Could it be the sun is now rising on a new day in gender relationships? Are we ready to hold ourselves and all men (and women as well) to a higher standard of behavior? Will we begin to desire Christ-likeness enough to really emulate not only Christ, the person, but his standard of behavior? Can we admit that our own Self-Ish-Nes is sin and binds us in chains that can only be broken with Christ's help as we find a place of confession and repentance? Maybe then we can become the godly, Christ-like persons we are meant to be?

Or maybe it’s just politics as usual

Democrats blame Republicans and Republicans blame Democrats, but both are willing to ignore it in their own party? May that not be! There is no place for predatory behavior in humanity! It is time for men and women, with the help of God, to behave in a manner befitting the most high God in whose image we were created.

Lord Jesus,

May your Kingdom come

and your will be done in earth

[and in me]

as it is in heaven.

I’m Rick Blumenberg and that’s My View from Tanner Creek.