The Era of the Good Guy

This year’s unholy mess of sexual accusations and sexual misconduct is the fruit of the sexually unrestrained 80’s-90’s rotting and bursting open to spew decay all over the landscape.  Sin doesn’t just stay contained in a little time and place, all boxed up so we can hide it or throw it away.  It seeps out easier than air or water, or it stays contained but growing until it explodes.  The effects of sin contaminate everyone around it, even entire cultures, sometimes even decades later.

I don’t know what the public will decide about Brett Kavanaugh’s participation or guilt in sexual abuses of the 80’s, but I know the descriptions of the situations and parties of that era are dead-on accurate.  They clearly show the debauchery, irresponsibility, misogyny, and hedonism of that (my) generation.  

Some people have asserted that if we hold all the adult men responsible for any sexual misconduct in their past, there won’t be anyone left to hold these positions of authority.  

Au contraire, mon frere.  There were some really good guys.  They didn’t get drunk.  They didn’t lay elaborate plans to secretly hold keg parties.  They didn’t buy beer for minors.  They didn’t pressure their girlfriends to have sex.  They often didn’t have girlfriends:  they concentrated on school or sports or work.  They didn’t hook up with whoever was drunk at the gravel pit.  They didn’t “accidentally” touch girls in the crowded school hallways. They didn’t tell dirty jokes or try to make the girls uncomfortable.  

They restrained themselves.  They acted with respect.  They chose to give up those “pleasures” for something higher.  They were kind and did their homework and held part time jobs and were part of their church’s youth group and worked on their cars or hunted or played in a band on weekends.  They were fun and nice didn’t try to get away with sin. 

Don’t you think it’s time these guys got the chance to be in the leadership positions for our country, our businesses, and our churches?  I’d like to think the Holy Spirit is cleaning house to make room for the good guys.  I know the world is not always fair, and those who “do the right thing” will not always be rewarded for it.  But it’s definitely time to hold the wild ones accountable and give the positions of responsibility to the wise ones.  

“When the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding; but when the wicked perish, the righteous thrive.”  Proverbs 28:28