Ashley Madison, the Virginia shooting, and our mirror

"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."  -Hebrews 4:13

I thought all the Ashley Madison clients whose names and emails were laid bare when I saw this passage.  I thought about all the men who thought they could 'get by' in secret with their lusts and betrayal.  I thought of the secrets that are now no longer secrets that are wrecking marriages as we speak.  And I thought about how we all have secrets that could destroy us.

Then, in broad daylight in Virginia, a disgruntled former employee went up and shot two innocent people, a reporter and a camera man, right on live television.  Sometimes our sins aren't even secret.  The tragedy in Virginia and the tragedy of the Ashley Madison scandal is a reminder of how broken our world is.  We are a sinful bunch, killing each other, physically and emotionally.  We are selfish and vindictive.  We are lustful and quick to react.  We are a mess.  We need Jesus.  We need His forgiveness, and we need him to shape us.

It's so easy to point fingers in these situations.  Men seeking sex outside the covenant of marriage is wrong.  A man walking up and killing two people is wrong.  But we don't really need to be reminded of that, though it does make us feel good sometimes to point a finger.  What I am reminded of in these situations is how much we have these things within us, and when we see ugliness on full display, it's a good time to look in the mirror.  You might not seek out a secret online affair, but what secret sin are you holding onto?  In what ways are we looking outside our closest relationships for affirmation and intimacy?  What do we have the capacity to do if we thought we could do it in secret?  And how have we let rage boil up in us so hot that we could just kill someone?  Maybe we wanted to hit them.  Maybe we did.  Maybe we just cursed them, to their face or behind their back.  Maybe we gave them the ol' 'unfriend' on social media.  Maybe we wished they were dead.

This is uncomfortable, but it reminds me that not only does our world need saving, not only do people whose sins have been in the limelight need Jesus.  I need saving.  I need Jesus.  If my life were laid bare, I'd be ashamed of the mean-spirited and hateful thoughts.  I'd be ashamed of my anger.  I'd be ashamed of my pride.  I'd be ashamed of my selfishness.  I'd be ashamed.  You would be, too.  I am convinced that the ONLY way this world will find peace and rest is if we each, individually, allow Jesus to change our hearts.  I believe that kind of change has the capacity to rub off on people.