Sex! Do I have your attention? Yup, believe I do

I have been dazzled, overwhelmed, sickened and amazed about that always controversial topic that has been splashed on every TV screen around the world, has chewed up mountains of blogosphere missives but in the midst of it all, it has caused me to take pause to, yet again, reflect.  Berlusconi, Cain,  Sandusky, Paterno, Lohan, Moe, Larry and Curly (those are the Three Stooges for my younger readers) are part of the recipe of a world seemingly gone sexually and scandalously mad.  So you must but ask yourself about how can something given by a loving God as a gift to His creation be made so cheap and sickening?

I have, as many of you, watched the two accusers of Mr. Cain and then watched his lawyer-led defense and found myself at first angry, then accepting his premise of non-guilt but then rationalizing that the numbers of those adding kindling to this fire, the four, at least, have to surely be the source of a real fire somewhere in this man's past!  I felt he did an admirable job before the cameras but then the pundits were already disassembling what he really said and did not say before the camera lights cooled so a whole new set of thoughts were unleashed. 

As I sit here still in the morning yet unlit with the sun, true or not true, how true or not true the matter is, there has to be some shred of truth to it, the sexual whatever you wish to call it for there has some root structure of truth.  So I guess the question is begged, do we expect too much of our politicians when it comes to morality, perseverance, honor?  My very quick answer is absolutely not! I do not think we hold them to a high enough standard.

Every man, if normal, has found himself doing self examination of his own life when these TV lights splash on the shores of questioning a man's integrity and I think that a good thing, really!  Sex, like technology, is both a gift and a burden much like pushing that rock of the hill.  You learn early that three things sell; sex, kids, and animals.  Think about that in your commercial review of your favorites and realize that most commercial marketing use one or more of those three to get the message of creating the perception of need planted into your brains, right?

Never will I forget being in Europe during most of the Bill Clinton / Monica Lewinsky debacle the impeachment hearings I watched on black and white, small screen TV in a hotel room in Slovenia and being both intrigued by the process but sickened by my national image being demeaned.  But was further amazed to realize the nationals I was dealing with were actually more angry at Congress for going after the US President for that behavior is so normal in their cultures. Was amazed and baffled at the same time; still am!

So my mind, this morning, has come to rest on the banks of the river of boundaries.  Life without boundaries is life in chaos.  A prima dona I claim not to be nor should any of us. As a professor working with men and women every day,  I am still awed by the vital nature of establishing boundaries in behaviors, expectations and demands for performance.  There will always be someone that will seek to infringe across a boundary that once crossed can never been returned to its original standing. Can I get a witness?  So establishing boundary markers in life and then holding to them regardless of motivation, perceived need, etc are vital to the order of life in a society.

So the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, while a commodity in today's hyper-connected, sex-driven, celebrity-inspired world is now more "normal", the fact is that we are bound by a common code and DNA and that is the Adamic sin nature from Eden.  We know it, it is there, it must be controlled at all cost for the collateral damage to friends, family, reputations and lives is immeasurable when that boundary marker is forsaken.  Please know that I am certainly not preaching down to anyone for we all wrestle and struggle with this matter daily but in the struggle, strength is gained or lost with the choice isn't it?

I will close by stating from the depths of my heart that I have felt and feel daily the gravity of respect that is so vital as a professor, a singer, a follower of Christ,  a husband, a father, a grandfather to know the boundaries, live within those boundaries and guard against encroachment across those boundaries by outside forces.  Mind you this is easy to write about but not always easy to maintain. 

As stated above, sex, like technology, has a good purpose and utilization as does technology.  So when we are bombarded by the media hype of accusers, defenders, lawyers, etc, integrate and assess your own principles and boundary markers that keep your own personal life moving forward. So today when that big Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil jumps up in front of you, admire its beauty, marvel at its creation but step beyond it for many are watching.  Who would have thought the sparkle of Joe Paterno would be tarnished in his mid-eighties but tarnished it is.

Seek daily to live a life before God and before Man that is blameless, clean and holy.  Writes easy but not always lived out as easily is it?  But, as has been said many times, life is a choice so choose well! Why, because those that are of most importance to your life and to your testimony are vigilant in their observance of your actions much more than mere words.   I am reminded of an old Christianism