Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Gal. 6:7-10
Yesterday it came out that Phillip Yancey, a well-known Christian author and philosopher has confessed to an ongoing 8-year adulterous affair. I read his "The problem of Pain" many years ago and thought it had some helpful thoughts but struggled to get through any of his books after that. In my book, he was a one-hit wonder, but many considered him to be wonderful. He fulfilled this verse. He sowed to please the flesh and has reaped destruction. I'm not saying that he is going to hell, but on this earth, everything has been destroyed. I actually much preferred Ravi Zacharias' books, and no one buys his books anymore, how much less Yancey's. I saw where Ravi's family is trying to restore some of his good legacy by forming an online library of his works, but like in the case of Amy Grant, Christians generally shoot their wounded. Yancey's 55 years of marriage has been betrayed, and although the wife said she is forgiving him, she does say how it's going to require supernatural grace. Imagine being his kid. Will everyone come home for Christmas next year? What will that be like? Forget getting any kind of inheritance. He will be using up any savings and living on Social Security. And what about generational sins. I believe in those. I think he has let down the umbrella of protection against sexual sins and they will land on members of his family down through the grandchildren.
Then there is Michael Tait of DCTalk and Newsboys who this past year it has come out that he practices homosexuality and has drugged people to do sexual acts. I'd be surprised if he doesn't end up in prison. I remember taking my kids to at least 5 DCTalk concerts. They were as big in the 90's as Forrest Frank is today. Now, I can't even listen to their music. I think about the effect on TobyMac because he gets a part of every stream of their songs. (Not that he needs money or that people are still streaming old school CCM to any significance) I think of the Newsboys. Their music isn't played by stations anymore and they aren't doing Christian festivals anymore. Last year they were the headliners at Lifefest in Oshkosh and were replaced by Josiah Queen. If I were Tait, I would take whatever savings I have, shave my head, and find a non-extradition Island to live on - his life as we know it has been destroyed.
It's easy to point at other people but Paul's point here is to make sure that doesn't happen to us. What can we do to "flesh-proof" our life. How do we follow the Spirit instead of the flesh. One thing is to learn from other's mistakes. My surgical mentor said, "good judgement comes from making bad mistakes but those mistakes don't have to be your own." Second is don't sow in that field. Run away. Delete Apps. Avoid that street. I had a friend that would stop at a store that had pornographic magazines on his way home from work until he decided to never go down that street again. Third, remember time is short. Judgement is coming. You are almost home. Don't quit the marathon at mile 25, make it to the end. Lastly, don't be selfish, think of your family. Don't quit on them - do it for them. God has given you His Spirit and the strength to win the battle against the flesh. You can win, so let's start winning.
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