First, I want to thank those of you who send me emails to continue discussing some of the things I write, but I want to encourage everyone to post comments directly on the site, so that we can expand the conversation. This past week I received three emails that are causing me to write an article about Jeffrey Epstein to explain why I REFUSE to write an article about Jeffrey Epstein. Why anyone is interested in what I think about this is a stark indication of a serious and growing problem. I have nothing to say about Jeffrey Epstein because there is nothing to say about him, and I wish our country could wake up to this fact. How can the resolution of this story possibly matter? Here is my thinking:

Recent history shows that a rich and influential pedophile and his accomplice got caught and punished. This person hobnobbed with a wide variety of people – good, bad, ugly, beautiful, but none renowned for their moral compass or a sense of ethics and decency. There is substantial evidence that this person knew and interacted on a regular basis with Donald Trump. So what? I cannot imagine there is anyone left in this country who has not made up their mind about President Trump’s morality, ethics, misogyny, contempt, worldview, civility, decency, or dignity. How can this possibly make any difference at this point in time?

Do we truly believe that in a time of incredible human-made and natural disasters, widespread human rights violations, inhumane treatment, and war crimes rightly defined as genocide, that Epstein deserves even thirty seconds of attention? As the poor and marginalized in our own country are being made more vulnerable, at risk, and in danger, do we really have nothing better to fixate on than privileged deviates? As we are watching our environment and climate explode with wildfires, floods, storms, tsunamis, drought, earthquakes, and intense heat, do we think seek solutions and trust science or do we bask in outrage over sick celebrity scandal? In a time where our media and our political leaders lie, skew, misinform, and enflame, and we need truth and trust more than ever, why do we obsess about egregious human depravity?

It’s time to grow up. And as Christians, we need to model the most mature values and perspectives possible. We have got to reject salacious, petty, hostile, destructive and demeaning rhetoric. We don’t applaud promiscuity, sexual immorality, and sexual mistreatment. We don’t attack, insult, humiliate, mock, or seek revenge. We don’t refer to others as scum, trash, monsters, or terrorists just because we don’t like them. We don’t reward illegal, immoral, corrupt, abusive, or bullying behaviors. These are what we don’t do, but instead of focusing on the don’ts, what about the do’s?

We do value honesty, integrity, loyalty, fidelity, and compassion. We do care for the hungry, the homeless, the sick, the imprisoned, the immigrant, the asylum seeker, and the refugee. We think globally, understanding that beyond all our rights we still have responsibilities – and the primary responsibility we have is to love our neighbor as ourselves. We not only admire but commit to peace, justice, mercy, equity, kindness, tolerance, and unity. We refuse to engage in the rising tide of filth and offal that polarizes and divides. Instead, we promote decency, respect, dignity, and unconditional love and grace that produces hope.