Was John Edwards His Own Prophet?

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John Edwards admits he became egocentric and narcissistic when he had an extra marital affair with Rielle Hunter while his wife was fighting cancer and he was running for president. He is accused of fathering her child, which he denies. My concern is for his wife and children. Why should they be humiliated for their husband’s and father’s sins?

This is not a new story. It could have been told millions of times, ever since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. After all, men and women have feet of clay. We have seen over and over how great men have fallen; from John Kennedy to Franklin Roosevelt. Of course in their day the media did not report on such personal matters. Things are different today.

Recently, New York Governor Elliot Spitzer was caught with a prostitute and yet as a New York State Attorney General, one of his top priorities was fighting prostitution. And then of course there’s President Clinton with his affair with Monica Lewinsky. It’s not only politicians. We’ve certainly had our share of fallen men and women in the ministry.

I don’t necessarily believe it’s any more prevalent in politicians, preachers, priests, sports figures or actors than it is in ordinary people. But because of the visibility of these professions it just seems to be. However, the same thing happens with teachers, plumbers, electricians, truck drivers, middle mangers, etc.... I myself went through a divorce in 1983 after being in the ministry for 23 years. I believe that ideally people should be married and stay together until death do them part. But things happen, people make mistakes. God is a God of forgiveness and grace.

I believe it's the job of every Christian to forgive and restore people who have fallen and made mistakes in their life. Jesus said if you do not forgive you will not be forgiven (Mark 11:26). Judge not lest you be judged (Matthew 7:1). This is a time to take heed. The Bible says to be spiritual you must restore. It’s my belief that the true sign of spirituality is the ability to restore. If you see your brother take a fall, take heed lest you fall (Galatians 6:1).

With 50 years of ministry I have come to the conclusion that you can pretty much predict when a great man or woman is about to fall. Let’s go back and look at what John Edwards said in 1999 when he first came to the Senate. He was very critical of President Clinton at the time. In the impeachment hearing about President Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky he said, I quote, “I think this President has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office, for the moral dimension of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter. It is breathtaking to me the level to which that disrespect has risen.” Over and over I have witnessed that when someone becomes critical of someone else’s behavior, it seems that invariably it’s just a matter of time before they end up falling by the very thing that they were critical of someone else for. Let’s pray for the restoration of the Edwards family and ask God’s grace to cover John Edwards.

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Even Christians Can Have A Bad Day

We all need to show some grace to everyone involved in the Victoria Osteen situation. Since September 11, 2001 air travel has become tense. The added security, longer lines, crowded flights, are creating more stress for passengers and flight crews. The crews are stressed by the lay offs at airlines because of the economy. Meanwhile ticket prices have gone up because of fuel prices. Passengers are paying more and getting less. It requires a little more patience from us all.

Airports can be strange for a person who is known to the public. I know from my own experience. Each year I log thousands of miles in travel for my Fire of Miracles Revival meetings. Every now and then I catch someone at the airport staring at me. I start to worry that some egg from breakfast is still on my chin. Then I realize that they may know my face from TV – they’ve seen my Power & Mercy television program. They are probably just trying to remember how they know me.

Joel Osteen’s TV program has a much larger audience than mine. His wife Victoria appears on it regularly. They have been featured on TV news and in TIME magazine. Some evangelists, such as Kenneth Copeland and Benny Hinn have been criticized for having their own airplane. While I have never been able to justify such an expense for me, I can understand why someone would – if their schedule and budget demand it, why not? It seems to me that as busy as the Osteen’s are they should be commended for flying commercial in stead of private. Former Vice President Al Gore would be happy that they are reducing their carbon footprint.

I don’t know what happened on that flight to Colorado that day. There are charges that Victoria Osteen did not want to deal with the flight attendant, Ms. Brown because she is African-American. Most churches in America are either Caucasian or African-American, or Hispanic. For over four decades, reaching back to the days of legalized segregation, my meetings include people of all skin colors. And I was criticized for it. In fact, before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 I was put in jail in South Carolina because I was letting Blacks and Whites sit together at my meetings – but that’s another story. I have many good friends in Houston, and they tell me that the Osteen’s Lakewood Church has people of all races. Sadly that’s rare. It doesn’t make sense to me that Victoria Osteen would have such bias.

Even Christians can have a bad day. I know that air travel can bring out some of the worst in me. We live in an age where people who are known to us from TV and movies have every wart examined. How many of us would look good having every word and every action scrutinized by 24 hour news channels and by the lawyers on Court TV? It’s kind of crazy to demand 10 percent of someone’s net worth for having a bad day. Let’s give Mrs. Osteen and Ms. Brown some grace.

The saddest thing for me was hearing that Ms. Brown feels that the incident has affected her faith. We all need to pray for the restoration of Ms. Brown’s faith. I know the price paid for my faith – the Blood of Jesus Christ. That is a price that is far higher than any amount a jury can award.

Note: Since I posted this blog, the Victoria Osteen jury decided to dismiss the case. Praise God for common sense winning out.