Letterman's Folly

David Letterman was in the news recently – in a way he probably didn’t anticipate or want. He had sex with a number of female employees, and was being blackmailed.

We know from the Bible that God does not want sexual relations outside of marriage. This is clear in both the Old and New Testaments. God also takes sexual sin very seriously. We see from God’s response to King David’s sin of adultery with Bathsheba that this is serious business.
There are at least five problems with Letterman’s affairs as I see it.

(1) They were sin according to God’s law.

(2) If he had any of these affairs while married, it was a sin against his wife, breaking his vows taken at his wedding, and betraying trust.

(3) He sinned against those women, even if “consensual.” He was in a position of power, and abused that power with these subordinates.

(4) He embarrassed himself and his family. These things are pretty ugly when exposed to the light. God through St. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:11-14a:

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. NRSV

(5) What he did was highly unprofessional. These are sexual harassment cases just waiting to happen. In most companies, you’d get fired for doing such a thing. Sadly, the morals and ethics in the entertainment industry are so low that he’ll never get fired, and will probably be praised for "doing the right thing" by exposing his blackmailer.

I hope that when you’re tempted you’ll remember these five reasons and not to succumb to the temptation. Just ask yourself this question: “Would I even want anybody to find out about this?”