No, this is not the promised sequel to the previous post dealing with the movie, “Up.” That is still to come. However, like Carl Fredricksen, I “saw” via the radio one of my heroes become disgraced today. Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina admitted to an affair.
In a word I was shocked. As his press conference unfolded, my heart shriveled. I deeply admired this man … and still do. Yes, he was a very promising contender in 2012 against Pres. Obama, but like my heart that opportunity is shriveled and has blown away in the winds of consequences. Yet, he was more to me than a potential victor. He was a man of deep Conservative principle fueled by Christian faith that was thriving in the night of the living dead that is American politics. He was a strong leader, not willing to yield to a deeply-entrenched defunct political system in South Carolina that traditionally views the governorship as little more than a state mascot. He was one of the few who dared to challenge the gluttonous spending machine of the current administration, claiming that government should not be exempt from the normalcy and health of cutting back during tough times.
Was. It has been about five or six hours now, and my heart continues to grieve the loss of a good man in the American political future.
However, unlike Carl Fredricksen in the movie, “Up,” and certainly unlike the “Judge-Not” defenders of Bill Clinton, my loyalty to him does not demand his political vindication. My loyalty to him hopes to see him continue to exhibit the class, honor, courage, and principled-conviction he has been known for in the past, by resigning as Governor and by marching forward on his promise to engage in a process of reconciliation.
I believe he was truly sincere in his press conference today, which, I believe, was one integral facet of “making it right.” Yes, what he did was truly despicable, which is why Sin is so dangerous. Only in middle school did we truly believe that only bad people do bad things. We grow older. Our skin grows thicker. Our eyes grow more vigilant. Our hearts grow more cautious. The best of us are capable of the worst in human nature. We are not simply corruptible. We are corrupted in our inner nature and need transformational-redemption.
Gov. Sanford did not attempt to rationalize his moral failings. He fully admitted he failed; he was wrong. No, I do not judge him in the sense of condemning him to an eternal state of moral sloth. Yet, I do judge him in the prophetic sense, “Thou art the man.” What he did was wrong and has consequences in the lives of other people, many of whom are innocent. He has breeched trust, public and private. He courageously and honorably admitted as much. Personal responsibility is a social virtue, both of which may well be undercut by folk theology.
For example, “There but for the grace of God go I,” gushes forth well-meaning founts of mercy. We would be gutter snipes had not God rescued us by his grace, in which we are called to live daily. Yet, if it’s true that God’s grace alone keeps me from falling into sin, then God withdrew his grace from Gov. Sanford, which in turn caused him to fall haplessly into his sin. God, in this view, would be the author of Gov. Sanford’s practice of sin. In the long run this folkism absolves sinners of any culpability. Jesus may well be the source of my life, as the Vine, but it is I, one of the grafted branches who am personally responsible to take practical steps in actively guarding my heart from the practice of Sin.
As another example, “The devil really got into me,” may also deflect personal responsibility in the practice of Sin. Had the devil not “gotten into me,” I would not have gotten into Sin. Far from denying Satan and his workshop in our backyards, I do not believe his craftsmanship is absolute. He has accomplices in our sin nature and a toilet bowl of a world. However, there is another Master Craftsman who absolutely holds the keys to the glorious outhouses of death and hell, as well as the key to the closet containing the divine Febreeze. He has called us to abide in him, his word, and his ways.
We should support Gov. Sanford in his travels on Repentance Road. Yet such support should not give aid and comfort to philosophical thugs, lurking in the crevasses, waiting on dainty opportunities to rape the image of Christ Gov. Sanford bears as one of his very public ambassadors. Truthless mercy does just that. Goodless kindness does that, as well. The God of the Apostles is also the God of the Prophets, who once called upon Nathan to declare to David, “Thou art the man.” The Jesus who says “No condemnation” to that hapless woman, is the one who calls her chosen practice “Sin.” Yet he is the same one who invited her to a new life free from the dominion of Sin. Mercy and Truth are the twin pillars of the gate opening to Repentance Road.
Sunday night my wife and I watched my absolutely favorite M. Night Shyamalan movie for about the 5th time: “The Village.” Set in the “1800s” several families have taken it upon themselves to leave “The Towns” and move to an “isolated” valley. They hope to rid themselves of the vices of the towns: greed and violence, by ridding themselves of the environment of the towns. They are successful until the Second Generation begins to enter adulthood. Curiosity and desire lurk with mythical creatures in the woods beyond the valley, designed to keep the villagers in their naïveté.
