08/08/20 IN THE NEWS — In 2 Samuel 12:14 (NKJV) the prophet said to David, “However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die."

Rest assured, I don’t believe in “kicking a man while he is down.” And I’m NOT taking sides—it’s way too early and I’m too ignorant at this point (like the vast majority of the rest of us!). But one of the sensational news items today concerns a prominent conservative Christian leader who apparently did something really stupid. Even if his early explanation is absolutely truthful, he should have known that the enemies of Christ are ever present, especially on the Internet and social media.

King David’s sins, which included adultery, conspiracy and accomplice to murder, were certainly much more serious, at least in the eyes of the world. But BOTH of them have given God’s enemies—the atheists, agnostics, cynics and skeptics—a chance to wag their fingers and their acid tongues at believers and God Himself and say, “If that’s what it means to be Christian, I won’t have anything to do with it. Why I’m better than that guy!”

Let that Scripture and this unfortunate incident serve as a wake-up call for all of us who follow Jesus Christ. As He told us in Acts 1:8, we are indeed His witnesses, for better or worse. When we foul up, the world is watching. Let’s all pray for this leader, his family, his university and seminary and the cause of Christ in general!