This video is hard to watch, but it reinforces my post from yesterday. There must be safety measures put in place in every church and accountability to ensure that fallible human beings are not given an opportunity to act on their sinful nature. Steven Livingston, one of the child molesters in the video, asked if it was fair that he felt like he was a victim since he had done so much good previously. It is not fair in so far as he seems completely void of understanding the magnitude of his sin, the emptiness of meritorious works, and the irreparable damage he has done to that child (the true victim), showing only concern for himself.
It is fair in one sense only: he is a victim of sin. We are all the victim of sin and, though we cannot fight it ourselves, we are without excuse when we know about it, are aware of the power that comes through Christ (1 Corinthians 10:13), and refuse to rely on that power. We are without excuse when we fail to build in safety measures, and fail to make ourselves accountable to others.
The weight of this hits when listening to these men talk of how quickly they fell. We cannot wait until we’re within the grasp of our own sinful nature. James makes that clear: “…each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. 15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.” James 1:14-15
The stakes are just too high for us to take this lightly. I am not proud of the smear this puts on the denomination of which I am a part. However, I am glad the curtain has been raised and the light is shining on the darkness. I pray it will lead us to greater resolve to live every day in the light of the Gospel and fight the good fight of faith, for our own sake and for the sake of those around us, especially those who are without defense.
