Your Cheatin' Heart & Soul

Recently the cheating-on-your-partner website Ashley Madison was hacked and the secret lives of millions of people revealed. There are reports of suicides as a result of the information being made public. Now the found and CEO has resigned, and I'm not shedding a tear for his demise.

The police in this country are investigating the breech of security, which is illegal, and have spoken of the harm this has done to so many. Not all that long ago adultery was considered a sin and there was a moral judgement in our legal system against those who were caught cheating on a spouse.  While the latter has changed, the commandment against adultery hasn't been expunged from the bible yet. It's still there, short and blunt.



I have no interest in thundering away about the moral decline of our culture, yet I was struck by how rapidly our mores have changed. If it is true that individuals have taken their own lives because of exposure then cheating and telling still matters for some. And I have to wonder how many marriages will end up on the rocks because of the cheatin' hearts of well, millions. Maybe the outrage will come from the pulpits of more conservative churches and mainline congregations should take it a little more seriously. As a pastor I have certainly seen the tremendous damage to families resulting from unfaithfulness in marriages.

Jesus actually upped the ante when he said that lust was a form of adultery. He was uncomfortably radical at times. He seemed to want us to be faithful in every aspect of our lives. Thank God for grace!

What has been going through your mind as the Ashley Madison hack has unfolded. Do faith communities still have a responsibility to address morality and immorality?