"Much of the modern resistance to chastity comes from men's belief that they "own" their bodies – those vast and perilous estates, pulsating with the energy that made the worlds, in which they find themselves without their consent and from which they are ejected at the pleasure of Another!" C S Lewis
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/c__s__lewis/quotesWho is Governor Mark Sanford?
He claims to be a Christian. During his painful press conference (if there was ever a need for help during a press conference, it should have been this one) he mentioned a group called C Street. This is a rather secretive organization based in a home in Washington, D.C., which provides Bible studies and counseling for political officials. It also rents five rooms to current Senators and Congressmen at a reasonable price. It's a little known fact that this group actually organizes and pays for the National Prayer Breakfast. It does not have a particular political bent, and one would find members of both parties on their rosters. They appear to offer Christian counseling and help for political leaders caught in scandals. Here's a link to read more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/25/AR2009062504480.html
Mark Sanford has always linked his politics with his faith. He offered an early condemnation of Bill Clinton’s affair while serving as a Congressman. When he ran for governor he ran the following ad: Video to follow-sorry
Mark Sanford utilized his belief system in his political life. Therefore, we believe it's relevant to explore his faith up closer. Because he has been involved with C Street, we will make the assumption that he has received Christian input. Indeed, he apparently stated that he met with his paramour in NYC earlier this year, along with a spiritual advisor, to end the affair. He appeared to be dealing with his sin; however, he failed to inform his wife about the affair during that time.
Probably unbeknownst to his advisors, he continued to communicate with his honey. Approximately two months prior to the public revelation of the affair, his wife found an e-mail and confronted him about the relationship. He was not ready to give it up, and she threw him out of the house although this was not known to the public at large.
It was at this point that C Street intervened and tried to save the marriage via intensive counseling. Incredibly, Sanford begged his wife to let him continue seeing his "soul mate". Not surprisingly, she was adamant in her refusal. So, in one of the most ill thought out moves in American politics, the Governor of South Carolina took off for Argentina and NO ONE, including his staff, knew of his whereabouts. His escapade included the Father’s Day weekend, demonstrating hiis intense, singular attraction to Maria Chapur (the babe) over his own children!
Why did he leave his family and state in the lurch in order to travel South of the Border to be with his honey? We believe he subconsciously wanted to get caught. Would an official of his rank ever leaving his post for five days and not expect to be contacted? Of course not! He was caught red handed coming off a plane in Georgia.
At least when caught, Governor Sanford held a news conference and fessed up. Well….not totally. At a subsequent gathering, he admitted to other inappropriate relationships that didn’t cross the line (meaning sex). Our guess is that there will be further revelations. Stay tuned… Kudos to his wife for not attending the conference! He got himself into this mess, and he needed to get himself out.
The one thing Mark Sanford did not do was to call himself a hypocrite. Everyone else is. The clip we are including was obtained through Alan Colmes' web site. In fact, Sanford must have been trying to make his affair seem excusable because his heartthrob was his “soul mate.” The Governor portrayed it as a modern day “Love Story.” Wonder what his sons think about it? What a great role model! Someday he'll regain his senses and be soooo embarrassed by these statements..
The divorce rate in America for second marriages is 67%.
Why is this? Many of these folks believed they had found their “soul mate” as well. However, this is a highly idealized viewpoint that puts undue pressure on a relationship.
What is the soul? The soul is the essence of our being.
http://www.truechristian.org/are_you_a_t_c/soul.htm
“Gen. 2:7 "And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." [Hebrew – Nephesh]
Nephesh: A breathing creature, i.e. animal. [or man] (The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1984)”
The soul is subject to death.
“Ezek. 18:4 "The soul that sins shall surely die."
Now why is our soul subject to death? Because we have all sinned against God. And that little, yet profound statement is often overlooked by many people going into a marriage. We bring all of our baggage with us, and, over time, we begin to become aware of each others' faults. Governor Sanford made a common mistake. He had a fling with a beautiful woman and believed that his relationship with her was something very special.
Our guess is that he had similar feelings about his current wife when they married. However, years of sin (on all sides), business, and familiarity led to a Star Trek mentality. Who wouldn’t like to search out strange new worlds filled with exotic beings? He only saw her ten times — hardly enough time to get into their first squabble. Exotic can quickly turn to mundane once the day to day living kicks in. No doubt "this hot babe" gets PMS like the rest of us women.
Why isn’t Maria the soul mate of Mark Sanford?
She's a sinner. That means, over time, the ugliness will surface. Oh, not just for her, but for all of us. Only the Holy Spirit who dwells within those of us who are Christians truly knows who we are. He is the soul mate, refining us, convicting us, encouraging us. If this woman truly loved Mark, she would want what is best for him and for those he loves — that includes his four sons. There is a picture of Sanford's older son staring at him with such pride during his inauguration as Governor. How sad that his father is now the cause of his pain. The "other woman" should want the best for those kids.
If she really cared selflessly for him, she would urge him to be faithful to the vow he made to the people of South Carolina. Furthermore, if she was selfless, she would urge this married man to remain faithful to the vow he made when he married his wife. What does a woman get when she marries a man who would divorce his wife? A man who breaks his vows and would be willing to divorce his wife.
True love would not have allowed this whole incident to happen. Does this woman really want to see this man disgraced, his wife devastated, and his boys deserted? If she does, she's DEFINITELY NOT a soul mate.
Governor Sanford quoted from 1 Corinthians 13 during an e-mail to his "hottie". What are some of the key points of this part of the Bible, known as the "love" chapter?
“4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (NIV)
Love is not self-seeking: Sanford deserted his family for his honey. She willingly participated in the affair for her own purposes. By the way, does “she’s my soul mate” sound a little whiney to you?
Love does not delight in evil. Well, his e-mails to her he appeared to be enjoying this affair, albeit sounding somewhat conflicted. She was equally at fault, obviously enjoying the Guv.
Love always protects: Did either of these lovers protect anybody? What about their children, his wife, their extended families, the people of South Carolina, and his vow to both his wife and the people? Did he actively prevent himself from being with other women? Even during his press conference, Governor Sanford did not protect his wife and family. Can you imagine how his sons felt when he was calling Ms. Argentina his soul mate? How would he characterize his own family members? What were they to him? How about his pathetic statement that he wanted to “try to fall back in love” with is wife? He confessed to a watching world that he did not love her. What a jerk!
Love always perseveres. Sanford certainly didn’t persevere for the sake of his sons and his wife.
We received an excellent (as usual) comment from ARCE. He pointed out Sanford’s hypocrisy along with the hypocrisy of the GOP. Although we believe that the DEMS have their issues, he is correct to point his finger at Sanford. The Matthew 7 (NIV) says:
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Hypocrite is a word derived from a Greek word meaning actor, more specifically the mask that actors used to wear so they could portray several characters. All of us are fearful of pointing a finger at ourselves. Martin Luther said to: Go and sin boldly. What he meant was to keep our sinful nature out in front of us at all times as we confront the world, never forgetting that all of us are in need of a Savior. Perhaps the Governor needs to be reminded of this as he interacts and judges others.
However, to be fair ,he decried Clinton’s lie to the grand jury. When caught, he did fess up within a couple of days. It took Clinton a bit longer(“I did not have sex with that woman”). Also, the GOP has issued a statement condemning his actions, albeit stopping short of calling for his resignation. I know, I know that he hid this from the public for a long time and this is not an attempt to justify his action in the least. In fact, let me say this loud and clear, “Governor Sanford should resign immediately and repair his family.”
http://www.alan.com/2009/07/02/mark-sanfords-campaign-ad-promoting-christian-values/.
The bottom line is this. Life can be hard. One of us had a child with a brain tumor. The other of us was involved in a tragic automobile accident at the age of 12 that took the lives of her friend's parents instantly. Others struggle financially. The list goes on . . . The moment we enter into any sort of relationship, including friendship, we bring our sin along with us. Inevitably, we will hurt others and be hurt by others. The moment we think we can escape the consequences of our sin, we become vulnerable and can do some really stupid things.
It has been said that it's important to look forward in time to our impending death. As you do so, imagine how you would like to be remembered. The only ones around us will be our families and our close friends. We highly doubt that the Governor will want to be remembered for his tryst with an Argentinean lover. However, we serve the Redeemer and He, alone, can forgive us and give us the courage to go forward.
May Governor Sanford, who claims to be a brother in Christ, seek out His Redeemer and may we all remember to pray for his wife and boys during this extremely difficult time.