I've never liked Penn State. I had the chance to go there, but chose against it primarily because it was too big. Additionally, I am a self-declared Penn State "hater" when it comes to their football program. I simply never enjoyed their players, their style of football, or their coach. Therefore, I felt reluctant writing about the scandal swirling around State College. I didn't want whatever I wrote to be construed as my attempt to be negative about something I already did not have a fondness for. However, there are few things I have been thinking through as I have followed the coverage over the past week or so.
First, the real victims of this entire ordeal are those abused children. It's not the football players, the football coaches, or the university. I read the first three pages of the indictment, but had to stop because I didn't want to keep reading. What those children endured was absolutely horrendous and a painful reminder of the total depravity of mankind. Instead of calling foul against the individuals being fired, we should be praying for the healing of these young men. Most of them are my age and have suppressed their abuse for nearly half their lives. They need to know their is hope and healing found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Second, men are not gods, and when we treat them as such the end result is always devastating destruction. Everything coming out is revealing that both Sandusky and Joe Paterno were men who couldn't be told "no." They wanted and demanded control of everything, whether it be a football program or their search for pleasure. And those is authority bent over backward to give it to them. They were essentially invincible, gods among men. As a result, those kids were sacrificed to maintain the status quo. One man did so by seeking out his own disgusting desires. The other ignored the problem to protect what he had built and hold onto his absolute power. There is a reason why the phrase "The Lord is God, there is no other" is repeated throughout the pages of Scripture. All other gods fail and devastate those who worship them.
Finally, as Cain found out, we are our brother's keeper. How many people had the opportunity to stop what was going on? How many failed to do what had to be done, not merely what they were legally responsible to do? What if one person played the role of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10? Those kids needed someone to step into their situation. They needed someone to physically stop the abuse when they saw it happen. They needed someone to follow through with them about the charges. They needed someone to believe that jobs, reputations, and well-being do not compare with the sanctity of a child's life. And so this begs us to ask whether or not we are willing should we face such a situation?
First, the real victims of this entire ordeal are those abused children. It's not the football players, the football coaches, or the university. I read the first three pages of the indictment, but had to stop because I didn't want to keep reading. What those children endured was absolutely horrendous and a painful reminder of the total depravity of mankind. Instead of calling foul against the individuals being fired, we should be praying for the healing of these young men. Most of them are my age and have suppressed their abuse for nearly half their lives. They need to know their is hope and healing found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Second, men are not gods, and when we treat them as such the end result is always devastating destruction. Everything coming out is revealing that both Sandusky and Joe Paterno were men who couldn't be told "no." They wanted and demanded control of everything, whether it be a football program or their search for pleasure. And those is authority bent over backward to give it to them. They were essentially invincible, gods among men. As a result, those kids were sacrificed to maintain the status quo. One man did so by seeking out his own disgusting desires. The other ignored the problem to protect what he had built and hold onto his absolute power. There is a reason why the phrase "The Lord is God, there is no other" is repeated throughout the pages of Scripture. All other gods fail and devastate those who worship them.
Finally, as Cain found out, we are our brother's keeper. How many people had the opportunity to stop what was going on? How many failed to do what had to be done, not merely what they were legally responsible to do? What if one person played the role of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10? Those kids needed someone to step into their situation. They needed someone to physically stop the abuse when they saw it happen. They needed someone to follow through with them about the charges. They needed someone to believe that jobs, reputations, and well-being do not compare with the sanctity of a child's life. And so this begs us to ask whether or not we are willing should we face such a situation?
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