Lessons Learned from Herman Cain

We all have lessons to learn from Herman Cain…

     Not too long ago, Herman Cain was a political unknown to many. I was only familiar with him through his many radio appearances on Bill Bennett’s “Morning in America” show on AM radio. Recently, he gained a tremendous amount of political steam in his bid for the Republican Presidential nomination.

     Even more recently, “The Hermanator” became “Hermanated”, when he announced amid scandalous charges that he’d be suspending his run for the Presidency. Theologian Albert Mohler made some very important observations regarding Cain’s political/personal foibles in his week-daily podcast “The Briefing”.

     The day after Mohler’s post, Churchleaders.com published a post, which we posted on our Facebook fan page, called “7 Ways to Affair-Proof Your Ministry“. Oh, and by the way – even if
you’re not in full time vocational ministry, you still have a ministry… all around you. So, read on. My comments were as follows:

“Interesting, God has convicted us to put virtually all of these into practice for years now. Are there any that you would add to this through experience or as a result of wisdom passed on to you?”

     In reply, one reader said – “keep an eye even on same-sex relationships” because of the current trend in the media leaning toward normalizing homosexuality. Fair cop. Another reader reminded us of one practice we’ve followed very closely – when emailing a member of the opposite sex, either cc or bcc your spouse (and/or theirs). Food for thought, thought for practice. I hope their post helps you out. But, back to the question – are there any practices you would add to these?

     We are not here to present ourselves as some model of “above it all” morality, rather as sinners saved by the grace of God, prone to temptation, and living daily in the victory over sin and death not that we have won, rather that Christ won for us. Good grief, without Christ, we’re prone to do anything, right? So, let’s learn not only from what was done wrong, but what was not done well, here, in the humility that it could have been any of us at this level of “success”, power, and public exposure. Let us not allow ourselves to give in to the sway of the world, which the bible tells us, is clearly run by the enemy of God, the father of all lies, and the lion who roams about seeking to steal, kill, and destroy.

     Herman Cain made some very unwise moves here. Today, we celebrate the wisdom that God has passed on to us through leaders like Andy Stanley, Voddie Baucham, Tommy Nelson, Jentezen Franklin, Casey Sanders, and others – Do whatever you must do to keep yourself out of harm’s way and do not even allow a hint of sexual immorality. We live in a broken world. We must guard ourselves from temptation. A sexual affair is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this kind of matter, because all sexual affairs began as emotional affairs. The best way to avoid a sexual affair is to STAY CLEAR of an emotional affair. And, in the hyper sexualized climate we live in, the best defense is a good offense.

     Below, I am posting a link to Mohler’s blog with two hopes:

  1. You will actually take the time to read it in its entirety and share it with people around you, especially your children and those you disciple in the marketplace, in church, etc.
  2. You will consider the steps that ought to be taken in ones’ life to ensure you are “blameless” and that any such attack on your character as a Christian man (or woman) will immediately bounce off not because you “said so”, rather because those around you can attest to the amount of space you intentionally put in your life between temptation and you (a.k.a. “margin”).