The news from Penn State assaults us and sickens us. A football coach sexually abuses young boys. That’s bad enough. Terrible. Horrible. Sickening. But then we hear about how those around him handled it. Each day reveals one moral and ethical failure after another. And the terror, the horror, and the nausea deepens.
But we can’t just get angry at guys like Jerry Sandusky, Mike McQuery, Joe Paterno, Andrew Curley, Gary Schultz and Graham Spanier. We have to take this to heart.
We have to understand moral courage and the need for accountability. People talk about having the courage of their convictions. That is, you can’t just believe in something, but you have to live it.
This is eminently Christian. This applies in both moral and doctrinal spheres. Ezekiel reminds us that we are watchmen standing on a wall. Watchmen warn. Jesus tells us that in our daily lives when we see sins, we can’t cover them up, we can’t ignore them, we can’t hope someone else does the job. He says, “When your brother sins – do something about it!” It doesn’t matter if it’s your brother having an inappropriate relationship or if it’s your sister advocating a false teaching. Both are sinful. Both require the moral courage to speak up and our Lord holds us accountable. He told Ezekiel that failure to warn brings blood upon not just the sinner’s head, but yours too. You let them die. You let them affect others, including the youngest among us.
And fear is no excuse. You can’t hide behind a job, or a career, or a friendship. Jesus didn’t say, “Take up your cross unless it’s inconvenient.” He said take up the cross, bear the burden, have the courage of your Spirit-given, Bible-revealed convictions. No matter what. No matter if it’s father or mother, brother or sister, coaching legend or tyrannical employer. It’s Jesus. Who says, “You must go through hardship.” Who says, “In this world you will have trouble.” Who says, “If you want to save your life, you must lose it.”
But Christ also said, “I have overcome the world.” He says, “Hardship precedes entering the kingdom of heaven.” He says, “Whoever loses his life for the sake of the gospel will save it.” He says, “Stand firm to the end and you will be saved.” Thank God for that Savior’s cross-bearing. His moral courage. His accountability.
Recent Comments