What's Justice Got to do With it?

I believe The Church is called to grace, love and humility.  Love, I think, extends to supporting our fellow brothers and sisters when they fall into the temptation of sin.  Most Christians would agree with this in concept, however it is a lot harder to walk out this unconditional love especially when the sins being addressed is one of the more "messy" ones.  Sex, in the church has often been looked at as a bad word.  People are afraid to even say the word, which makes it difficult for anyone to admit that they have struggled with sexual temptation or, worse yet, been guilty of sin.

Sexual sin isn't any "worse" than any other sin but in many ways it is a lot trickier to deal with.  The consequences very high and can affect a lot of people, way more than the amount of people it took to sin.  I think this is one of the reasons people are so afraid to talk about it.  It is scary to think of the consequences to your own family should you have sex outside your marriage.  Avoiding the subject is one way for people to keep their own minds from going places where they don't want to be.  While this tactic works for some it can be quite damaging to others.

Some people need to talk through their desires so that their Christian community can help them find healthy ways to protect themselves.  Without people to hold us accountable we are all at great risk of succumbing to our desires, and when a person does fall they need others to help lift them up so they can be fully restored. 

I think most of you will remember hearing about Pastor Ted Haggard and the sexual sin with which he was involved.  I don't want to defend his actions however I must admit that I was rather dissapointed in the way his situation was handled by others.  There were a number of religious leaders who tried to downplay Mr. Haggards involvement in the National Association of Evangelicals.  He was (temporarily) pushed out of his home and away from his community and I recently heard someone say he was denying his sin because he admitted the desires came from being molested as a boy.  Mr. Haggard has taken responsibility for his actions, admitted his wrongdoing and appologized.  I wonder what would have happened if he was able to openly admit his struggles before they went so far.

What do you think?