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31 August 2015

Less Band-Aids, More Life-Support...and why I'm praying for Anna Duggar

What's the difference between band-aids and life-support?

Band-Aids are a temporary fix to heal something little and minor, like a paper cut. If you put a band-aid on a gaping wound, it does nothing to heal or fix it. Life-Support is much more drastic and intense. It involves complicated, intricate procedures to help an individual.

As I have read the headlines about Josh Duggar, and others like him, my heart breaks and grieves for their families, but I'm also reminded of the reality that the Church needs to more ardently give Christians life support in the face of these sins and enemies, not just band-aids.

This isn't just about Josh Duggar. It's about the Church standing up and doing battle with evil itself.



When it comes to this whole Ashley Madison scandal, yes its very sad, but more than anything it
angers me. 

I'm angry because at almost 30 years old I have heard 1 sermon in my life on the evils of pornography addiction.

I'm angry that only when a big sex scandal like this comes out do people start talking about sexual sin and acknowledging it. The rest of time there is no discussion of it, because sadly it has become a socially acceptable and even "normal."

I am angry that my faith tradition (Catholicism) still in many ways is silent on these issues when it comes to preaching in church on a Sunday morning. I am angry when well-intentioned people make idiot statements in ways that don't help the issue.at.all. 

I am both angry and sad when I see young people I know struggling and getting caught up in the web of sexual sin. We as a Church need to stop avoiding and start talking about the messy.painful.difficult. stuff. This means preaching about affairs, divorce, pornography/sexual sin, and other difficult issues. Not talking about the messy stuff only gives it room to grow and destroy families.
I know there is a wide array of thoughts towards the Duggar family for SO many reasons. 

This sad reality of leaked information about the secret life of Josh Duggar is a staunch reminder that pornography, infidelity, and sexual sin are rapidly becoming a growing problem in our culture.

Over the last week, I have found myself thinking of Anna Duggar and her young children. 

I cannot imagine the pain and shock she must feel and trying to manage it all with three little ones plus a newborn baby. I pray she finds help, healing, and the right resources. I pray for her courage, wisdom, and discernment in the coming weeks and months. I pray she gets proper counsel from the proper people. I'm praying for Anna Duggar not because I'm a fan or even that I necessarily agree with her, but because she too like me is a wife and a Christian.
And yes I pray for Josh Duggar too. 

I pray he wakes the Hell up, repents, and changes; but not by just reading his Bible or doing manual labor but that he chooses to enter into recovery for himself, his wife, and his children. 

I pray he realizes the damage his selfish choices have done to his family.
You can hold whatever opinions you want on the Duggar family and even Josh himself, but might I ask you to say a prayer for his hurting wife and children today? Because they are the ones that have to deal with these life-changing realities moving forward. No wife wants to wake-up the to reality her husband cheated multiple times, but to do so in the face of great public scrutiny is unimaginable to me.

Sin is real. Evil exists. Our choices always have consequences. With all that in mind, let's stop avoiding the messy. Rather, embrace the painful realities many of our brothers and sisters sitting in the same pew as you are battling. 

Part of being church is to walk with each other through the painful mess of life. 

And the mess of sexual sin doesn't need anymore band-aids.



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1 comment:

  1. Amen! There's not much else I can comment here, as you've pulled the words right out of my soul and put them down in this post. Praying fervently for Anna and those adorable children.

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