REPORT OR REPENT

I knew something was really bothering me about this recent, continuing spate of outing sexual predators, especially those of the political and Hollywood worlds. Cynically, not for a moment have I believed it was truly about the victims. From the very start of the frenzied accusing and reporting I smelled the Pharisaical hypocrisy of (victims excluded) those who were fixated on accusing and reporting the predators. It made those involved feel very righteous indeed. Someone had been wronged, and the reporters had taken the victim’s grievance as a cause—readily so, because it fit their template that women in America are targeted to be discriminated against and exploited. What is really going on with this contemporary outing of sexual predators became clear to me when I remembered the story of the woman caught in adultery being dragged to Jesus by the Pharisees in an effort to entrap Him. Self-righteously, these “reporters” of the crime said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. Now, the Law says stone her. But, what do You say?” What did Jesus say? “Stone her.” Yes, that’s what He said. “Stone her. Get your rocks, men.” “O.k. Got them? Good. Now, we are going to select somebody to begin this here stoning. Hhhhm. Let’s start with the fellow here that has no sin in his life. Step right up and be the first to hit this woman with your rock. Come on. Let’s get this stoning started.” Suddenly, every accuser was frozen. The only sound heard was stones thudding to the ground from fingers loosened by sudden loss of enthusiasm. The stones dropped first like a few sprinkles then like a downpour. Then, beginning at the eldest (perhaps, because he was wiser and first saw what Jesus was saying, or, perhaps, he’d lived longer and had accumulated more sins), to the youngest, the would-be stoners ducked their heads, quietly stepped backwards out of the mob, then whirled and hurried away. They were caught and convicted. Yet, they would not repent. They simply backed out of the spotlight of Truth. Jesus was NOT letting the adulterous woman off the hook. Among other things, He was underlining the hypocritical tendency of the human heart: We humans with righteous gusto and disguised delight are ready and quick to accuse and report others’ sins but are so very reluctant and slow to repent of our own. This is emblematic and systemic of our society today (especially made manifest in the political correctness, millennial world.) This is what the frenzy of this outing of sexual predators is all about. It is about, unwilling to repent of their own wrongdoing, accusers and reporters feel passionately righteous and noble to have a cause of unearthing and exposing these harassers, molesters, abusers. It is incredulous to ask us to believe that there is genuine concern for the real victims. Many of the outers and other accusers have long known these incidents were going on. It’s all a part of the debauched society in which most of them participate. I am not arguing that sexual predators should be dealt with leniently or get off free--not at all; the accusations should be investigated and the perpetrators should be prosecuted and sentenced to the fullest. Neither am I suggesting that there have been no victims nor that the pain and hurt of such crimes is to be minimized; There have, and it shouldn’t. Nor, that victims should not report; they should be encouraged to report and supported when doing so. The point is those who so readily report others’ sins are unwilling to admit and repent of their own. As I accuse the reporters above of their sin of hypocrisy, of their willingness to report others’ sins rather than repent of their own, I must realize I just did the same. I am more willing to report on the reporter’s hypocrisy than to repent of my own. And we just thought the Pharisees had gone extinct. Did I just hear a rock drop? Perhaps, my own.

REPORT OR REPENT

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