Prostitutes and Politicians

Spitzer’s life is ruined. It doesn’t matter if he has defenders who will wail, “It’s his private life!” It doesn’t matter if he fights the charges. It doesn’t matter if this was a political prosecution. As Talleyrand said: “It’s worse than a crime; it’s a blunder.”

Eliot Spitzer, Harvard Law graduate and Fifth Avenue denizen, is forevermore: “Client No. 9.”

Surprising no one, police wiretaps indicate that the “models” were semi-literate, could not learn to swipe a credit card and seemed invariably to be on drugs. That’s what you get for $2,000 an hour in this charming business.

Behold the “victimless” crime of prostitution. Hard to believe these girls would turn to drugs. Having sex with strangers for money, nothing to live for … just thinking about it makes me want to take drugs.

It’s absurd to talk about Spitzer’s problem being “hypocrisy” – as if everything would be fine if only he had previously advocated legalized prostitution.

But beyond the basic case itself (similar stores being repeated among Presidents, Congressmen, and Senators), what does this mean for the Christian? What lessons should (must) we learn from Spitzer’s downfall?

Sin is Not “Victimless”

The idea sins like drug use or prostitution are “victimless” should be out the window now. Some politicians have even advocated legalizing these activities claiming they’re victimless – looking at Spitzer’s wife during the press conferences you’d be hard pressed to claim prostitution (even if legal) doesn’t hurt anyone.

Those politicians (some of which have been presidential candidates) and groups making such claims close their eyes to reality.

The Bible says these things are wrong. They’re not bad because they’re sin, they’re sin because they’re bad. We don’t know the religious life of Spitzer, but it doesn’t really matter – what he did destroyed his family and his political career. Even if prostitution is legal, we doubt his wife would feel different.

But beyond the political arguments, what does the Bible have to say?

For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. (Romans 14:7-8 KJV)

Paul says in Romans your actions do affect others – a truth not lost on Spitzer’s wife and family. The idea “victimless” sins like drugs and prostitution don’t hurt anyone and should thus be legalized not only doesn’t make sense, it’s unbiblical.

That should be enough to settle the issue for Christians.

Your actions (good or bad) affect everyone around you. That’s the Biblical truth, so choose your actions wisely.

The Enemy Wants to Take You Down

Problems like Spitzer’s never start the way it ends; it’s likely he never thought of this ending. But how did he get there? We see pastors become snared in relationships similar to Spitzer’s – shouldn’t they know better?

It never starts that way. For a pastor, it begins as simple as a married woman coming in for counseling. He begins to talk to her about her marriage and situation, and soon the woman begins to think “this guy understands me, not like the clod at home”, and begins to form a bond with him.

The pastor meanwhile, begins to think “here’s a woman who appreciates me”, and begins to form a bond with her, outside of the relationship with his wife. One thing leads to another, and you know the rest of the story. Neither set out or believed the ending would come as it did, but “it just happened”.

To avoid this problem, men counsel men and women counsel women. “That’s narrow and legalistic” some may say. Perhaps. But we’ve seen pastors caught in this snare, and perhaps some simple precautions might avoid the mess.

Besides basic right and wrong, how many people have you heard say “I’ll never go to church again, because Christians are hypocrites – look at what that pastor did”. Ask yourself, how many people will spend eternity in Hell because of the actions of a few Christians?

You Become Like the Gods you Worship

One reason this problem comes with politicians, athletes and others is because they’re used to always getting their way – they can literally buy anything they want. Solomon tried that approach, and found it all vanity (Ecclesiastes).

But a verse in Psalms becomes particularly insightful for these situations.

The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths. They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them. (Psalm 135:15-18 KJV)

You become like the gods you worship. For those who worship power and the ability to do anything they want, it’s not surprising their downfall comes from acting in such a way as to ignore everyone around them. It’s all about me, after all.

The SIN Problem

We’ve all inherited a genetic defect from Adam; a sin nature. Every person (except one) who ever walked this planet has the same sin nature. We all make mistakes, we all need forgiveness. The idea of “rating” sin is man’s, not God’s. You know, Spitzer’s sin is really, really bad, but hey, my sin isn’t really that bad, at least I didn’t …

Not so. God doesn’t grade on a curve. Sin is sin. Period. In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus says sin is internal – if you’re angry with your brother without a cause, in God’s eyes that’s as guilty as murder. And for all those who say “I’d never do what Spitzer did”, Jesus also says to look at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

God looks at the heart, man looks at outward appearances. Don’t think just because nobody knows about it God thinks it’s OK. You can hide from everyone else, but God knows.

Conclusion

Many will accuse us of claiming Christians are better than everyone else, and don’t make such mistakes. Nothing is further from the truth. Christians are just as susceptible to these errors as anyone, and need to be on guard for entrapments which cause their ruin. And remember, it’s still sin even if no one finds out.

We’re all sinners, and all make mistakes. As Eliot Spitzer goes, there go I, but for the grace of God. It’s not pointing out “look how bad that guy is”, rather it’s a warning for all of us – be careful or you may end up in a similar situation.

We don’t ask for judgment, but mercy and grace. All I can get.