The eCrozier

The scandal involving General David Petraeus is both complex and tawdry, but at its core it’s simply the failure of one man to remain faithful to his wife and to his marriage vows. That’s a story that is at least as old as the Bible itself. Only General Petraeus might know why he broke his vows to his wife and to God. I write, “might,” because he just might be confused and at a loss about his own behavior. He might not even understand his own actions.

You will recall St Augustine’s own self-reflection on the pear tree incident in his youth. He could never really offer any other explanation for why he did it other than his own sinfulness. And, of course, we have St Paul writing in Romans 7 where he laments that he does not understand his own actions. He finds himself doing the very thing he hates. None of us can always give a ready explanation for why we sin.

But how could someone who was the Director of the CIA be so clueless and reckless. After all, a man in his position had to know that seemingly anonymous and private email addresses could easily be tracked back to their source. He had to know that such tracking technology was readily available. So how could he have been so clueless and reckless in his behavior? Here’s the best answer I have: He lives in a bubble in which powerful people so often live.

Such a bubble so warps their judgment that they reach one of two equally outrageous conclusions: (1) The morality that applies to other, lesser people does not apply to them. Or, (2) They somehow, because of their position of power, are immune from getting caught in their sin. General David Petraeus joins a long list of similar men who lived in this bubble: Senator Gary Hart, Senator Bob Packwood, President Bill Clinton, Congressman Bob Livingston, Congressman Mark Foley, Senator John Edwards, and Senator John Ensign. These are only some of our leaders over the last 30 years who apparently had this warped judgment from living in the bubble.

As I wrote above, this behavior is at least as old as the Bible. You will recall how King David deceitfully had his faithful soldier Uriah the Hittite, placed at the head of the battle, threby assuring he would be killed when the general ordered everyone but Uriah to retreat. King David did this to cover up his adulterous behavior and thus take Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, as his own wife. Why would King David do such thing? The answer the Bible gives is clear: He was king and as king he assumed he had the power to get away with it. It was not until Nathan (his National Security Advisor) confronted him that he confessed his sin and asked God’s forgiveness.

Every time we witness such tragic, self-destructive behavior, there is always someone who shakes his head and asks: “When will we get morally right leaders so things like this stop happening?” But things like this won’t stop happening this side of heaven, because we are sinners. That does not condone the behavior, to be sure, but it does explain it. We are sinners. And that truth, too, is as old as the Bible.

+Scott