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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