Thou shalt not commit evil because of someone else

Opinion has been divided on the scandal involving Archbishop emeritus Stanley Ntagali. 

A section of the public is gleefully gloating about the exposure while the other is vehemently preaching restraint against condemning our former archbishop for committing adultery. Those against passing judgement front Luke 17:1-4 saying the man of God is just human like all of us.  

“And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” 
Many also keep quoting Jesus about casting the first stone. 

But in reading the said scripture we must take into account the context in which a particular comment was made. In this case, when a woman was supposedly found committing adultery and the man with whom she was caught was left to go freely, we are told that the Pharisees were seeking to trap Jesus and that is why He answered them the way He did.

 I do not think Jesus meant to treat adultery lightly. And being in possession of divine wisdom, He understood the circumstances that can lead a young woman into that sort of life and so he absolved her but told her not to sin again. 

Polite reminder
I want to remind all Christians including our honourable bishops that the same Jesus who told us not to judge also told us that “to whom much is given, much is also required.” 
And overcoming such temptation is one of those requirements expected from them. 

Because He knew temptation and sin were not easy to overcome, He also told us to be wise as a serpent and humble as a dove. He urges us to be watchful at all times because if the owner of the house knew at what time the thief will come, he will not break into it.

Many of our leaders are sleeping on the job and that is why we keep hearing of shenanigans and scandals that are threatening to turn the church into a den of iniquity.  The devil is hard at work and will come from the most unexpected source.
 
Take the example of the archbishop’s entanglement; as a layman, I can understand if the young woman had been the archbishop’s housekeeper or his secretary because such closeness can sometimes result in accidents.

 I am still amazed at how these two even managed to evade all those handlers to have such an affair. Were the handlers also part of it and if so how did it slip through their ring of protection and into the public sphere?  On a human level, the questions are numerous and the answers are inadequate.

 But on a divine level, the consolation in this affair is that God still loves man so much that He will expose him so that he repents fully and at last stops pretending to be what he is not. I want to believe that even though the archbishop’s reputation has been sullied, he has been given the more important opportunity of saving his soul from eternal damnation.

 The underbelly of this fallout is just like in King David’s time this incident has given the enemies of God and indeed the enemies of the church an opportunity to gloat. And many who have been resisting temptation now feel they can go ahead and do whatever since even the archbishop could not resist it.

 But the Bible cautions us in Romans 14:1-23, “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 

Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. 

And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” 

Remember we will stand together before our creator as individuals and just like ignorance is no defence before the law so is His Grace Stanley Ntagali’s moment of weakness. 

Tit bits…
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