“And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.” Mark 9:42 (KJV)
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive,” Sir Walter Scott.
Heartbreaking. Lives destroyed, families lost, everything gone. How many times does the news report on the fall of great men? Cities, states, and countries crumble with the fall of corrupt political leaders. Companies close with the fall of unscrupulous officers. Most devastating are the falls of pastors, evangelists or great religious leaders – taking down the faith and confidence of their congregations or followers. Churches split, people walk away from the very beliefs that they drew strength from, never to return. People become lost.
Falling men don’t have to be leaders, celebrities, pastors or figures of authority to cause the lives of others to be affected and destroyed. Any man who has made a lifelong commitment to touching the lives of others, however big or small, can be the reason others lose their faith and trust in men. A husband who chooses to quit work and leaves the responsibilities of caring for his family to his wife – as he sits and watches TV all day or plays for hours on the computer. It could be a father who drowns his disappointments with drugs or alcohol, leaving his children and wife to fend for themselves. It could be a good friend who betrays that friendship with deception and lies. It could be a mentor who falls to temptation, either destroying the lives he’s dedicating to help grown strong or turning away from them at a critical moment in their lives, leaving them alone and afraid. It could be a school teacher or a Bible study teacher. How do you think they will feel about men in general when the very man who God placed in their lives to love and protect them causes them hurt and pain?
Truths turn to lies. Laughter turns to tears. Hope turns to despair. Trust turns to disappointment and distance. Friendships are disrupted and not sought out again. Families destroyed. Strong futures lay ruin. What happened? How did temptation and pride override common sense and a strong moral system and lay waste the promises of a strong and fruitful life? Lust. Greed. Pride. Addictions. Lasciviousness.
“Never happen to me,” you say? What did they say not long ago? “Not me” . . . “I would never” . . . so easy to say, and an open invitation for the enemy of our soul to take the challenge to find that weakness and chip away at it.
It is never a sudden decision, usually a little give and take over a period of time. Things that were once so black and white become less definitive. Priorities change. Family and friends loose importance. Everyone else in their world becomes collateral damage.
Can the fallen be restored? Of course, if they have the desire. Restoration can only come through a humble heart and a deep relationship through Jesus. All other attempts are just vanities – a vapor in the wind – without substance.
The real question is, can they restore all those whose lives were damaged and changed because of the fall. Can trust ever be completely returned to the hearts of all who know them? I don’t think so. Those lives have blown away like sand in the wind – you may be able to collect some of them back, maybe even most of them – but so many will be lost forever to the hurt that can only be healed through Jesus.
Dear Lord, let me always remember that my words and actions are being watched by far more people than I could ever imagine. Help me to understand that if I should ever fall, I would be responsible for every person that may stray from you because of my actions. Help me to always remain humble. In Your Precious Name. Amen.
Written 2-23-09
Linda J. Humes 