8-06-2006

Celebrating the freeing, supportive presence of God. So your experience of God may become your experience of life. It is wonderful what God can do!

“Why do good people do bad things?”

August 6, 2006

Why do good people do bad things? After all, it is natural to expect that those who are brought up in good homes and good schools would be strongly inclined to carry out kind and proper actions toward their fellow human beings. Whenever a good person is accused or even charged with either inconsiderate or even illegal actions, we are caught off guard and often find it difficult, if not impossible, to believe.

Relatives, friends and neighbors appear also to be in a state of disbelief as the news media interviews them for all to see. I am always left with a strange and haunting feeling as I realize that apparently the forces of evil (also known as temptations, addictions, and stresses) that we regularly face can be so powerful as to cause a good person to “fall” and give in to it all.

Christians had placed a good deal of faith in the person of Mel Gibson. They were impressed with his time, effort, commitment, and money as it went into the film epic, “The Passion of Christ.” He had also spoken out regularly on behalf of the “right to life” movement and his personal faith.

This past week, these same Christians are in shock over Mel’s night out at the bar without his wife, his felony arrest for drunk driving, and his continuing racial slurs about Jewish people. Of course in Mel’s case, it’s easy for some to chalk it up to him as being a “Hollywood” type and an actor. But this avoids the question and the depth of the problem.

In the early 1990s, a very promising member of my congregation who had a beautiful young family, and a good job in management, had become the chairperson of the Council on Ministries. He was well loved and respected by all for his kindness, generosity, and good judgment.

One night he called me in tears and great distress that he had been arrested for DWI in a neighboring community and he was in deep trouble because this was not the first time. I immediately got with him to pray and assure him that neither God nor I would forsake him in his time of need. I stood by him for his arraignment and beyond.

Through it all, the question, “Why do good people do bad things” ran through my mind. In this gentle man’s case, the answer evolved around two things: the terrible addiction of alcoholism, and not adequately dealing with a growing, but not publicly visible schism in his marriage.

The new television program, Windfall, points to two additional reasons which cause normally good people to take on troubling and devastating actions in their lives. The story line evolves around the troubles brought on by excess money; in this case, a group of friends winning a $28 million dollar lottery.

What follows is the breakdown in their marriages. This is brought about by the breaking of commandment number 10 (“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife”) and commandment number 7 (“Thou shalt not commit adultery).

Coveting, in my view, is the more important commandment to which we all need to pay the greatest attention. If there was no coveting, there would be far less stealing. If there was no coveting, there would probably be no adultery.

Therefore, I submit to you that along with addictions, and not taking adequate care of growing problems, we now add coveting as a reason why normally good people eventually do bad things. This brings us back to our story this morning of King David.

King David had all the blessings of God and was actually identified as a special favorite of God, and yet David gave in to temptation—he coveted Uriah’s wife. His covetousness led to the murder of Uriah.

Even more interesting, this story of David points out that God was not only displeased about coveting and murder, God’s anger is clearly stated by the writer, that David took from a man who had less in life than he. David was rich, Uriah was a lowly soldier. David had many wives, Uriah had only one. In addition to that, we learn that God is not nearly as concerned about sexual actions that are not tied in to adultery and murder.

To emphasize this, the punishment doled out to David was that David’s wives would be taken and given to David’s neighbor who would then have sex with them for all Israel to see. I believe that this points out to us that in our daily lives we should be more concerned about the moral issues in which God is concerned about and not choose our own moral idiosyncrasies with which to waste our time.

One could easily conclude from this passage of Scripture, that today’s churches have become unnecessarily concerned about human sexuality in general while almost ignoring God’s issues which are murder and adultery. God gives the gift of life and expects no one to remove it from another. God gives the gift of human relationships and expects no one to undercut or violate faithfulness in that relationship.

Why do good people do bad things? Well, there are times when good people are simply overcome by temptation, addiction, covetousness, and priority failure. Others make bad choices in a weak moment, and others throw caution to the wind.

God has given us the gift of freedom. We can make choices in life and must be prepared to do so. We must help our children and the children of our community to understand these basics.

In conclusion, ours is not to judge. Ours is to offer grace and healing. Ours is to stand by them as they reap the consequences of their actions. Ours is to be alert to those of our family, friends, and neighbors who may need a helping hand or an encouraging word. Ours is to be the warm and healing hands and feet of Jesus Christ in our community.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will make you alert to those whom God places in your path.