“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

-Hebrews 4:13

An earthquake.

A shift in the earth’s tectonic plates. There is guaranteed an epicenter where it all began. A pinpointed moment where the destruction originated. And then comes the seismic waves. A severe vibration that spreads out from the center of destruction and devours everything in its path. Homes and buildings are toppled. Sinkholes form and swallow whole whatever was resting upon it moments before. Lives are taken. Lives are changed forever. If the earthquake happens at sea no one is immune. Tidal waves run across the ocean, only to creep onto the land, flooding entire cities. Sweeping away everything and everyone in its path.

Then there is the serenity of a simple stone being dropped into a pond. Ripples dance until they fade into nothing.

A simple action can cause a massive reaction. One that can be felt immediately. One that can be felt from far away. Unknown is the reach by that which caused the chain reaction.

Such is the way of Man. Redeemed and Unredeemed.

Somewhere there is a man. He has happened. He is happening. He will happen. Behind him is a woman keeping the home fires burning. Children are part of the equation as well. This woman has been by his side through the valleys and the mountains. She was there to comfort him when his father died. She stood by his side when he was laid off. She prayed over him when he awaited the biopsy. She rejoiced when it was negative. She supported his dreams and cried with him when they all came crashing down. She vowed to be his unmovable rock when he struggled with the addiction. But then one day, a pretty young flirtatious thing came into his world. The feelings were mutual. Secret rendezvous. Lies. Excuses. In time he believed, since it was all fun and they had so much in common, that they were soul mates. That he had made a grave mistake in being with the one that he made a vow nine years prior to not leave nor forsake. Lust clouded his judgement. It disguised itself as Love. He even led himself to believe that Mistress was not just the one that he should be with, but that she was a gift from God. That He was so happy in blessing their union that He was willing to excuse adultery and divorce. For this moment, of course.

The selfishness of this man had made him delusional. As he and Mistress moved away to start a new life together as Step Dad and Step Mom, they had just come to the assumption that everyone shared their ignorant bliss. But Children did not want to be in the middle of a broken family. The New Normal had acquainted itself with them as The New Hell. All they wanted was their family back. Now they have to be part of the broken pieces of what is left behind. Watching Sorrow take hold of their broken hearted parent, as Anger took hold of their own hearts. Confusion takes hold of Step Dad and Step Mom. They cannot understand why Children feel this way. Shouldn’t they too be joyous in starting over with a new family? The fact is that Children understand that you should not fix things that are not broken. No one desired to start over. They were happy as the original family that God had ordained. Now so many lives are torn apart because of one foolish and selfish decision. In time Forgiveness will find its way. Mom and Step Mom may even stand in the same room together and converse. But even though Time can heal all wounds, it cannot remove the scars. No one ever saw it coming. No one will ever be the same. No one will forget.

We are a few months removed from the tragedy of Michael Tait’s controversial double life. Many in The Contemporary Christian Music industry said that they were not surprised. But for the average Christian that does not mingle behind closed doors with these famous voices for God, it was quite surprising. Shocking, even. Here was a man that had spent decades singing for Christ. From D.C. Talk, to a solo career, to playing a major role as the front man for Newsboys. He had become very well known in Christian Music. So when accusations came that he had sexually assaulted various men (yes, I said “men”), as well as partaking in heavy drinking and drugs, many of us did not believe it at first. Many just assumed that it was an Atheist trying to stir up a hornet’s nest just to smear Tait’s name, thus smearing the name of Christ. Because, in their eyes, when a Christian falls, so falls Christ. But Tait confessed.

I am not going to detail the grotesque accusations. I am not going to address the disturbing security video footage. What I am going to address, however, is how the selfish and sinful actions of one man can cause a collapse of everything and everyone around him. Eventually Sin will find its way into The Light and be exposed for all to see.

“…behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.”

-Numbers 32:23

Tait’s selfish behavior, first and foremost, harmed his victims. My understanding is that his assaults were more like uncomfortable groping and touching. It could have been far worse. Thankfully it was not. More so, thankfully there were no children involved. I am not in any way insinuating that this is not a big deal and I am not minimizing the impact that his actions had on his victims. However, it is certainly something that no one saw coming. No one involved will be the same. Forgiveness has found its way. But Forgotten will not arrive. Consequences will, however, and Justice will be served.

Second, Tait harmed himself. His Lust was perverted. Not just was he pursuing wrongful actions with others against their will, but he was pursuing them with other men. It has become apparent that Tait not just has a twisted mind and is a sexual predator, but is also potentially a homosexual. Maybe he is fighting it. Maybe he embraces it. Nonetheless it is part of his double life that he seemed to have enjoyed for far longer than Grace should have allowed. He also had become addicted to alcohol and drugs. Not just did this do damage to his body, but Addiction enslaved his mind. 

Third, he caused the fall of his band Newsboys. Because of their potential knowledge of these actions, many in The Christian Contemporary Music industry had condemned them, as well as any other artists that knew, yet remained silent. This caused not just their record label to drop them, but also for their tour to be canceled. Essentially being blacklisted. Imagine that! One man’s selfishness and sinfulness caused four other men, not including other musicians and staff members for Newsboys, to lose their dream. A band that has existed for decades derailed. Even if they are honest in not knowing what was going on in the shadows, they are still being judged as “guilty by association”.

Fourth, he harmed the name of God. His actions had shown The World that God is in fact… dead. That there is no Saving Grace. That our Faith is nothing more than a hypocritical act. That we put on masks and play the fool. That there is no inward change created by the working of The Holy Spirit. That The Christian is no different than The World. That we are not Sinners saved by Grace, but Sinners just like they. Spiritually dead. Even to the point of sick perversion. Only pretending that we are not. We are just as corrupt as even the worst of humanity. Yet we lie about it.

The problem with people that fall into the deceptive trap of a double life, as well as those that act on that deception such as our aforementioned Husband/Father and Michael Tait, is that they do not see past today. They do not take into consideration the waves that will come about when their Sin hits the water. How violent they may be. How much destruction will fall into its path. The outcome when the shores flood and devastation finds its way into the previous unsuspecting and innocent lives. Victims are the guarantee. They are only occupied with the temporal pleasure of the here and now. Completely unaware that they have abused their future. Then they are left to ask “How did this happen? How could I have allowed it to get this far?”. Or they may ask no such thing, because they have taken pleasure in Pride and that it happened. Selfishly not caring for the altered lives that lay in the wake.

An abusive father. An alcohol and drug addicted man. A promiscuous wife. A rebellious son. And then some. All of these Sins affect someone else down the line. One may find themselves unemployed for their actions and thus can no longer provide for their family. One may lead to immense heartache and hopelessness for a wife. One may tear a family apart with Fear and Anger. One brings sorrow and shame to their parents. Sin has consequences. And when the bomb goes off, it is inevitable that everyone within relational proximity will be hit with the shrapnel.

As Christians we need to be mindful as to where our feet trod. Whether it would be steps upon dry earth, or our imprinted footprints in the mud. Because the whole world will see where we have been and where we are going. Generations that lie behind us will find themselves walking in our steps. Trying to match the one that went ahead. From celebrities such as Michael Tait, or our own Mothers and Fathers. We may think that we can get away with it by choosing to walk in Midnight’s Darkness. But eventually The Light will pierce through and chase away The Dark. Leaving us exposed before the eyes of Man. Leaving us struggling for words to try to explain our foolish ways.

“But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”

-The Prophet Isaiah 

And when Father lives a double life, God will be silent. And the silence of God will not just be to the ears of him, but through him to his family as well. It is the silent echo that no one hears. But the consequences are felt…

Achan felt the guilt when Israel lost because of his covetousness in hiding the spoils of war. David and Bathsheba’s baby bore the curse of their adulterous affair. Israel fell from The Plague because David chose to pridefully number them. The whole of Man became bound to Sin because Eve shared a bite of The Forbidden Fruit with Adam. And they all came face to face with Death. Both physically and spiritually. Unsuspecting innocent victims because of selfish and sinful desires born from a few that had lost sight of God and set their eyes upon The Flesh. And not a single victim asked for it.

One action. One man. Total destruction for all within the radius of him and his Sin. A Sin that was veiled in secrecy. Or so he thought.

Now, we must give credit where credit is due. Michael Tait abruptly stepped down from his position with Newsboys right before the allegations came out of The Darkness. Even though he waited for his Sins to be made public, he eventually confessed to them. In his statement he asked for Forgiveness and sought Repentance. Unlike his former D.C Talk cohort, Kevin Max, who turned his back on God for the sake of The Alternative. At least Tait stayed true to the name of God and recognized the sacrifice of Christ upon The Cross. Now would he have eventually confessed to his double life had The Light not found him? Was his Repentance more of the same lip service that he had misled the masses with for so long? That is not for us to decide, for it is between him and The Christ. But let us rejoice that he confessed his Sins and professed to seek help. May we pray that it is so.

However, let us not look at the above men and women. Let us set our eyes upon men that overcame The Darkness. That knew well what would become of them and those around them if they chose to falter. The Word tells us of a man named Joseph who fled Temptation and Adultery, leaving behind Pride and the riches of The World. We see a man named Job make a covenant to guard his heart by not looking upon Lust. We see a man named Elijah call down fire from The One and Only God upon the drenched altar. There is Peter and John, staring Fear into its eyes as they chose not to silence their tongue. Then there is The Christ who, with surgical precision, used The Word to dissect The Enemy in The Wilderness while He hungered and thirst. These are just some of the men from The Scriptures that could have chosen to bow out and fold when Darkness tried to tempt them to cross the line. Yet they turned their eyes and looked into Heaven, choosing to stand their ground.

Let us remember them. Let us stand when Temptation arrives to deliver us into Damnation. Let us mind those that will fall with us if we so choose to give in.

Because it hurts to look upon ourselves when we have lost our way. But the pain is unbearable when we turn to see who followed us.

“The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.”

-Numbers 14:18