Purity

Ephesians 5:3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people.

It is stunning; the swiftness with which a lifetime of reputation can be shredded before our eyes, just by NOT doing what should be done. And I am only talking about a football coach.

Penn State's head coach Joe Paterno is guilty of not going far enough to protect a child. Passing a complaint up the food chain is not the same as calling the police, which is what you are supposed to do if you discover that a minor is being sexually abused by an adult in your department. You don't just trust that "somebody else will get that."

There have been a few sex abuse scandals in our churches over the years. I vividly remember three but I am sure there are more. We must do more than hope these things do not go public. We must even do more than act proactively when they happen. We must do what we can to prevent them from ever happening. That means that we must examine closely the people who want to work with kids, and that we must pray for discernment. And that is not mere suspicion.

Father, in Jesus Name, we ask you to expose the schemes of the devil, the plans that he has for our children. And, Lord, we ask you to give us the courage to act swiftly, even when it's uncomfortable.