On Infidelity

We are currently in the midst of watching the meltdown of a marriage. I am speaking, of course, of Tiger Woods and his wife Elin. To say that we are watching a tragedy unfold is a vast understatement. I am not interested on commenting on his "transgressions" in particular, but rather to observe that he is but the latest example of a problem that we all face. It is not popular in our modern American society to talk about original sin. We would all like to think that there is something inherently wrong in: a) Tiger's upbringing, b) Tiger's celebrity status, c) Some unknown aspect of his relationship to Elin, or d) all of the above. Now, I am not privy to the details of any of the above. But it seems to me that underlying all of it is the simple fact that we humans have an inborn sin nature - a natural tendency to do things that we know are wrong before we do them, yet we do them anyway. It is a tendency observed at the earliest of ages, and one that does not go away by itself. How mean is it, then, that God holds us responsible for the things we do wrong when it is born into all of us. But of course, that misses the entire point of Christmas. Of course God knows we have this tendency, this irresistible tendency to do things we know are wrong. But that is why He sent Jesus in the first place. Jesus shows us that it is possible for a human to live without sin, but that it can only be true of someone who is actually God's child. So, the Bible tells us that God offers to adopt us into His family by causing us to be "born again" by the power of His Holy Spirit. The bottom line is this: without the power of God in our lives, we are all doomed to live a life of slavery to some aspect of our sin nature. But God can, and will, overcome that in our lives if we will let Him. How's that for a Christmas gift?

Pastor Ken