All of a Sudden Mike Pence Doesn’t Look So Extreme!

First of all, this is not a political article. I don’t care if you are democrat or republican, conservative or liberal. This is an article about the moral behavior of our culture

In the past year, and especially in the past few months, there has been an avalanche of allegations of sexual misconduct. Accusations of rape, groping, exploitation, etc. by some pretty famous people seem to be in the news every day. Bill O’Reilly, Harvey Weinstein, Al Franken, and now Matt Lauer are at the top of the list of celebrities who have been accused of some sort of sexual misconduct. Let me be clear, I am not saying who did what. I am not saying that anyone is guilty of anything. I am a firm believer in letting all the evidence come in before rushing to judgment.

This article is about Vice President Mike Pence. As most of us know, Vice President Pence is a committed Christian. He has a rule, actually two rules, that have helped keep him from temptation and have protected him from false accusation. He does not eat dinner alone with women who are not his wife. He does not go to events where alcohol is being served when his wife is not present. When “The Pence Rule” first came out in March, he was ridiculed by the left. And many on the right thought he was being ridiculously cautious. Novelist Angela Hunt recently wrote, “People mocked VP Pence when he wouldn’t have dinner with a woman without his wife present. Now who’s looking like a very wise man?” Well said, Angela!

I have been happily married for over 37 years. I have been a pastor for over 34 years. There are two things that scare me to this day: 1) I fear that I will fall into moral sin. This would destroy my family, my reputation, my church, and my career. And it would break God’s heart. 2) I fear that I will be falsely accused of a moral sin. This would damage my marriage, my reputation, and my church. And it would probably destroy my career. So I have always tried to be careful in my relationships with women. I have not been as careful as Pence. At times it just seemed too inconvenient. I am rethinking that.

There is another person who lived his life with a similar rule as Mike Pence’s. I am talking about the late Billy Graham. Billy Graham had a rule that he would not meet, travel, or eat with another woman alone. He was ridiculed for that as well. He was accused of being overly cautious and even disrespectful to women. Yet, Billy Graham was arguably the greatest evangelist of the 20th century. And Mike Pence is the Vice President of the United States. Instead of mocking these amazing men, perhaps we can learn something from their choices.

To read an excerpt from my book Crashing into Heaven, check out:
https://crashingintoheaven.com/mybook/