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When the story first broke yesterday about Gov. Sanford of South Carolina being “out of pocket”1 I figured that this was possibly a case of someone that was trying to get away from the pressures of work and wanted to keep his location to himself as much as possible.
However, when we heard today that his wife and children had no idea where he had gone, my mind wondered if there was a chance that he was having an affair. Turns out that unfortunately my hunch was right.
It’s said that the times to look for cheating spouses is around the holidays—because they are usually not telling the truth to both parties. So, when a dad is absent for Father’s Day and doesn’t tell his family where he’s going or how they can get a hold of him, that sends up warning flags in my mind.
No one is immune—we can all fall into sin, and the more power you have the more that you think you can hide from the truth. Gov. Spitzer (D-NY) thought he could hide his tendency to visit prostitutes from his wife and state. Now Gov. Sanford (R-SC) has found the same to be true.
Whether it’s physical, emotional, or both, what he did is wrong, and I pray that he and his wife will have grace through this problem and that they can find forgiveness.
Whether the state decides to keep his as Gov. based on his misdirection as to his location, that’s their call. To me, both what he and Gov. Spitzer did was sin, though in this case only what Spitzer did was against the law.
- They originally claimed that he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, but then they found out that he was actually in South America. [↩]
It’s amazing how much of the humility comes back once these politicians realize they’ve been caught. The kind of games they play before, makes it hard to reconcile that arrogance with the tear-stained confessions and pleas for forgiveness. Oh well, I hope he’s able to salvage whatever’s left of his life and career.