Reactions to the Duggars

On Wednesday, I had a meeting that went longer than I had anticipated. When I got home, my wife was watching the interview with Jim and Michelle Duggar so I watched the rest of it with her. They did a good job of explaining their actions but my take was that people who supported them would agree with them and people that did not support them would still be upset and angry with how the situation was handled. As it turns out, that is what the reaction was on Thursday. Many people still called them “hypocrites” and “creepy” after hearing their side of the story. They see their actions as reprehensible and inconsistent with their actions to stop same-sex marriages.

Whiel there are many angles through which one can look at this story, I want tofocus on one small area dealing with our view of sin. As I am reflecting on their words and the reaction that others are giving, it is obvious that there is a HUGE gap between the two sides. After hearing the same words, why is there this gap? Why are their two such opposite camps here?

This seems odd since both camps can see the horror that occurred. Josh Duggar did some awful things. He sinned; he committed a crime; he broke the trust his family had with him. There is no excuse for those actions. This is plain to see from either camp. While some do not see homosexual acts as sinful, the Duggars do. Thus, they even put what Josh did in the same category as homosexual activity.

But this brings up the question of why are they so anti-gay, homophobic if you will, but then seemed to sweep Josh’s activity under the rug? In my Bible readings lately, I have been reading in Romans and I think this “inconsistency” can be seen by looking at a couple of verses: Romans 1:32 and Romans 7:18-20.

Romans 1:32

“Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” (ESV)

Paul had just listed a bunch of sins and he notes that the problem is not only that they are doing these actions but their attitude towards those actions. They do not see the actions as being wrong. They just keep doing them and “give approval to those who practice them.” These people are not sorry for their actions and are not working to stop the behavior. This is the category that many Christians, including the Duggar’s, place the idea of same-sex marriage. If people have same-sex desires and decide to get married, they are no longer fighting against those feelings. They have accepted those feelings as okay and not a problem. Thus, acting on them is not sinning. In other words, they are not repentant sinners.

On the other hand, if we look to Romans 7, we see a totally different picture.

Romans 7:18-20

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” (ESV)

This paints a picture of someone that is fighting sin. They may give in to temptation (reluctantly or in defiance) but once confronted, they break down and confess. No matter how often they do this sin, they are penitent. They see their actions as sin, they know they did wrong, and they are working to stop that behavior. Like the verses say, desire to do the right thing is not the only thing that is needed to prevent sin. This is the category that they place Josh’s actions. He sinned. He confessed. There was regret and sorrow for his actions. (How things were handled after this point is beyone the focus on this post.)

Unfortunately, there are people that can play the game. They know the words to say to appear remorseful and repentant. This is especially true for sex offenders. They are confronted and they can act sorry for what they did. They play it off only to go out and do it again to someone else. These fall in to the first category: unrepentant sinners.

So how can we tell if someone is telling the truth or just playing a game? We can look at the rest of their life to see if they are trustworthy. Do they get mad or defensive when confronted with other behavior issues? Are they truthful about the other areas of their life? These are some indicators but there is no guarantee that we can be accurate. That is when, as Christians, we pray and as the Holy Spirit to work in their lives.

So in the end, do I think that Josh Duggar is a repentant sinner or an unrepentant sinner? Even though what is being said by the Duggars appears to point to repentance, I do not know him well enough to make a guess. I hope and pray he is the former.

What is your attitude towards sin? Are we defiant and dismissive or broken and repentant? God cares about how you answer that question.