" But godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses." -- 1Timothy 6:6-12
So here we go again. Another "scandal" regarding a Patriarchal Christian family. I admit, this post is going to be initial thoughts-- kind of just my immediate reaction to all of this. And of course, it's my opinion based on my experience. But I am pretty worn of all these attacks on the Godly Family and its principles and order.
The True Hypocrites
I guess that is to be expected in a nation that hates God, though. But if anyone is a hypocrite, it is not Duggar, but rather it is all the venom-spewing Christ-haters on the discussion forums (we all know the people shouting the loudest have much more heinous secret sins than Duggar does). Jesus told us to be careful because "with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again" (Matthew 7:2). I would be very afraid if I were one of the people making such horrific comments about Josh Duggar. These people's attacks are so bad, they are angry his wife is not casting him off, and saying that her children should be taken from her. People like this, I confess, I pray to God they will be swiftly judged according to the same measure they cast upon the Duggar family. Break their teeth, O God!
Certainly as Christians, we should take the example of what happened and learn from it, for our good. But we should not be calling Josh Duggar a hypocrite and all kinds of horrible things; he is not a phony. He is simply in a battle between the Spirit and flesh. I know this battle all too well; and if you are an honest Christian, you do too! The Apostle Paul knew this. Read Romans chapter 7 for a refresher. Shame on you if you think his sins are so much more horrific than yours! Seriously. The thing God hates the most is pride. So yes, perhaps you have not done what Mr. Duggar has done; congratulations, but if you have been walking in pride, you are in a far worse position and God is literally resisting you and all that you do.
Romans 7 Christians vs. Lukewarm Christians
What kind of Christian is the most hopeless (if there is such a thing)? A guy like Duggar? No, actually it is the lukewarm Christian that Jesus has the biggest problem with. And this type of Christian, maybe he does not do what Duggar did, but he is much worse in Jesus' eyes. And the lukewarm Christian is exactly what 95 % of American Christians are, many of whom are condemning Josh Duggar:
"And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." -- Revelation 3:14-22
Duggar Will Rise Again
I will get to my critical analysis of the situation shortly. But I do want to say this first. Josh Duggar has been humbled more than he has ever been. And because he loves God, he will come back stronger than ever. Because of his humility, God will lift him up and give him his grace (power). He might not do great works in the spotlight, but God knows he will be used mightily of him in days to come. You and I probably won't see or know about it, but that is okay. The first will be last, and the last will be first.
Transitioning from the phrase about last/first, learned from Jesus' parables in the gospels, we need to take heed from the example of the Duggars. They indeed had a very godly family, and in many respects they still do. But Jim Bob made a huge mistake when he put his family into the spotlight of national television. It was a huge error.
The Mistake of Jim Bob Duggar
Going back to the introductory scripture for this blog post, we see that "they that will be rich" fall into temptation, a snare, and many foolish and hurtful lusts. But I am not referring to the lusts which Josh fell into. The Duggars fell into a compromising form of Christianity because of being in the spotlight. They had to turn down the heat of their fire in their Christian lives in order to even exist on a television show. And what is the reward they received? Perhaps they have not become "rich" monetarily, but they have benefitted quite a bit from the show. And whatever Christian witness they sought to establish, because they had to compromise in so many areas; whatever good they thought would come of it all... well.. it is all but gone.
Many a godly Christian or Christian family has fallen into a ditch similar to Josh's. But you don't hear about it because they are not targeted by Marxists, like the Duggars were and are. They could have remained a solid Christian testimony without going on national television. But a godly man, "though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand" (Psalm 37:24).
The world cannot understand this, and will just yell "hypocrite". Whatever, let them. They only say this to justify their own sinful lifestyles. Every action they take is in defiance to God; Duggar is simply struggling with a certain area of life and fighting his natural sinful tendency. Don't fall into the trap of taking up a reproach against Duggar (Psalm 15:3), lest you cease to walk with God yourself. And don't pretend you are any better than Josh; we are all utterly and hopelessly wicked and deceitful, without the grace of Jesus Christ.
You all know I have been very critical of the Duggars and their decisions. But I can relate to the struggling man of God and what he goes through. Not only my own struggles from the past, but also in my experience in relating with other godly men. May we love and pray for our brethren as Christ would have us to.
Beside all this, this whole hacker thing, like everything else, makes me suspicious. In one form or another, this had to have been planned by the Marxists and Jacobins behind the scenes. You can be certain that no so-called hacker (it was probably a government and/or Jewish oligarch agent anyway) would ever expose someone, so that it would not benefit the Marxist cause (which is why you also never see Jewish pedophiles exposed.. only the Roman Catholic Priests). LORD, save our people and turn this evil upon our enemies' head.
Swiss Kinist
