The hacking of the adulterous
website – Ashley Madison – is far reaching and devastating.
Their message was clear – “Life is
Short. Have An Affair.” In other words,
you don’t have time to waste in a difficult or unsatisfying marriage. You don’t have time to waste in the boredom
of faithful, sacrificial service to your spouse. You deserve better; you are better; so
secretly step out and be satisfied. Find
someone who fits you … and nobody has to know.
Ashley Madison’s offer to arrange a
secret fling was apparently popular. The
adultery promoting website boasted of some 38-million anonymous members …
before they were outed by some hackers.
The names on the lists are real people.
They have real spouses, real children, and real parents who must now deal
with the real and lasting effects. Tens
of millions of lives are now different because of this unveiling of sinful
escapades.
Garrett Kell, led pastor of Del Ray
Baptist Church (Washington, D.C. metro area), reflected on Ashley Madison’s
message in light of what we’ve learned.
He says, “Times like this provide us a unique opportunity to consider
the deadly deception of sin.”
This week, my blog postings will
share Pastor Kell’s ‘lessons learned’ from the false advertising of Ashley
Madison.
1.
“Life is short.” – Don’t believe the lie.
The Madison tag line does what all
good temptations do … tell you a partial truth.
Life is short. This is true. We only have a brief amount of time to get
the most out of our days before they are over.
This makes the pains of a difficult marriage feel all the more imposing
on our happiness. Therefore, we are
tempted to say – “Life is short: I deserve better or this isn’t who I thought I
was marrying or I am tired of being the only one trying to make this work, etc.,
etc., etc.
Kell says, “Pitting the difficulty
of marriage against the brevity of life is a masterful way to allow
discontentment to take a seat in the den of your heart.”
It’s the same trick Satan pulled on
Adam and Eve in the creation account where in the Garden of Eden he told them
that if they ate the fruit of forbidden tree they would “be like God knowing
good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-6) Satan
told the truth to them … for when they ate, they went from not only knowing
good, but now experiencing evil as well.
The lie was that knowing evil would be better for them than the goodness
God had already supplied.
Kell said, “I bet that first bite of
the forbidden fruit was amazing. But the
aftertaste has been more bitter than they could have imagined.”
The temptation of adultery plays the
same trick. At first, there is pleasure
– the thrill of secrecy – the power of curiosity – the excitement of newness –
the satisfaction of passion. But that’s
where the truth ends … and the bitterness of the lie begins. If Madison was honest, her tag line would
have said: Life is Short. Let us help
you destroy it!
As a result of this hacking, a whole
lot of people are now anxious about covering your tracks and deleting emails
and erasing texts. They are imagining ways
to explain your travels and bank withdrawals.
They are racked with fear and indescribable guilt when they walk into
their house and look into the eyes of your spouse and children.
Yes, life is short. The ‘lesson learned’ is this: Be ready to get
caught, because you will get caught. We
all get caught.
Be sure to read the next two
‘lessons learned’ in my Wednesday and Friday blog postings.
Rev. Dr.
Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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