by Jess Connell · August 20, 2015

Well, so here it is.

After Josh Duggar molested a number of girls and got caught a number of times, he went on TV, got himself a wife, and sold purity and courtship and not kissing until marriage. We all watched as his dad gave him a purity talk, which we now know, he did solely for the camera, because he knew full well that his son had a great deal more sexual knowledge and experience and sin under his belt than either of them let on.

And now– sadly– we know that while Josh was trumpeting family values, he was full-on pursuing adultery.

And with that, another idol of the Christian community bites the dust.

Though the news did not surprise me, it did sadden me. My heart did flip-flops. It’s a similar feeling to the one I got when the Bill Cosby stories began breaking… sick to my stomach… so incredibly, gut-wrenchingly sorry for his wife… saddened at the depravity our sinful hearts will lead us to… but ultimately, certain of its veracity.

But you know what else that news drives me to do? Oh, sister… fellow mom… friend… Sister/Brother in Christ… it makes me look in my own heart and see the foul wickedness right here.

The reason I was certain of the veracity of the stories is because I know the wickedness that resides here in my ugly human heart, and the ugly sins that want to take up ever-increasing real estate in my soul.

The whole thing reminds me of something the Apostle Paul said:

 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  ~1 Corinthians 10:13

It’s not just Josh Duggar’s problem.
It’s yours, and mine.

  • We all, in our flesh, want to hide our sins.
  • We all, in our flesh, want people to adore us.
  • We all, in our flesh, want our strengths to be celebrated, and our weaknesses to be discreetly tucked away in some supposedly-confidential place where we can indulge.

You wanna know the most revolutionary thing we can do with our sin?

  • OWN IT.
  • EXPOSE IT.
  • CALL IT WHAT IT IS. (which, by the way, I haven’t seen Josh do. In one confession, he “made mistakes.” In this last one, he “became unfaithful.”) Folks, we need to use God’s language about our sin. 
  • FIGHT IT.

[Update 8/20/15: mid-day, he released a revised statement that does call it “sin” and no longer uses the wording above.]

Today, I’m asking again… as I do every time “another one bites the dust”…

  • What lies am I believing?
  • Are there sins I’m willing to live with and ignore?
  • Are there sins I’m minimizing with unbiblical language?
  • How is Christ currently changing me? Or have I –God forbid! Help me never to do this!– used him as a formula and then gone on with “my” life?

Help us, God, not to treat your ways as a formula. Help us to submit ourselves to the painful, whole-heart renovation You seek to do in us. Help us run from externals and never ever ever be satisfied with rule-keeping.

And, P.S. Lord???… give his wife Anna huge heaps of wisdom and grace and a safe cocoon of people to minister to her deep places right this minute. Oh, what a hard road it is to walk as a follower of Jesus.

I’m sitting here, in the post-Duggar-news-gutpunch 2.0, asking the Lord to draw out my sin and help me to be a willing exposer of my own sin, rather than one who conspiratorially hides it.

I want to– continually– live in the light!

It’s so painful sometimes… because we see all the ugliness that goes so well-hidden in the dark… but honestly facing up to our sin is the only way we grow.

I’m reminded of this quote from John Owen:

“Be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.”

As I wrote last night about this scandal,

There is nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing NOTHING our children need more than Jesus and His whole renovation of their hearts. 

Not homeschooling.
Not outward conformity.
Not courtship.

Not “purity” until marriage. Not a good job.

Not a single thing.

Father, give our children Your Son, Your Spirit… Your life… Your righteousness… 

Not self-righteousness.
Not looking good.
Not celebrity.
Not fame.
Not money.
Not positions.

Give them the sweet Lord Jesus.

He’s the only One that is without sin.
Life in Him is the only hope any of us, including Josh Duggar, have. 
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Tags: Duggarkilling sinparentingscandalsexsin

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