Everywhere you turn today there are allegations and hints of improprieties. It seems that somewhere along the line we turned into a society that produces a precipitous amount of scandal.

Here is just a partial list of the things in recent months that have fallen under the mantle of suspicion and scandalous behavior:

  • Barry Bonds and the rampant use of Steroids in Major League Baseball
  • Crash winning the Best Picture Oscar and the resultant cries of homophobia for those who thought Brokeback Mountain deserved the prize.
  • The ongoing Enron trials and allegations of corporate malfeasance among Fortune 500 Companies such as Worldcom and Tyco.
  • Abu Ghraib and torture
  • Lobbying improprieties

The list could go on and on of the crimes and misdemeanors of public figures. The more visible that you are the more tragic your fall will be when it occurs.

Part of that is due to our insatiable curiosity when it comes to the trials and struggles of others. We rubberneck, we gawk and we discuss. It’s a 24 hour news cycle. If it bleeds it leads. And if it smells it sells.

There have been many scandals in my life. I have seen seemingly countless leaders, ministers, politicians and sports figures fall. That is one of the reasons that so many in my generation have struggled trusting public figures. We have felt betrayed and lied to.
But there is one scandal that trumps them all: the Scandalon.

A Scandalon is a stumbling block. It is something that caused people to fall and to flounder.

It can be something so small as an irregularity in the sidewalk.

The message of Jesus. His Good News. His life and His death are the ultimate scandalon. The beauty and the power of the message of this God in the Flesh is just how almost unbelievable it is.

That God would come and lower himself to the status of man, endure humiliation and torture is unthinkable. But He did.

And because He did, we are forced to look into our own lives and see the scandal of sin, to recognize our own moral bankruptcy. For we are scandalous people:

  • We are juiced on our own pride and ego.
  • We are guilty of our own hatreds and prejudices.
  • We have lied, cheated and stolen far too often.
  • We are sinners.

And we must look at the Christ and abandon our own pride. Lay aside our ego and confess that He is Lord. We must cling to Him as the sole hope for our lives.

And for many to do that is scandalous. It is unthinkable.

It means dying to self. And that is a tall order. Instead, oftentimes, we hide behind our meager defenses, offering excuses for our offenses that provides little justification of our behavior.

Let us look at the Scandalon. Let us live. Let us leave behind our attempts to be good, holy and right and allow Him to be good, holy and right through us. Maybe we in the church need to be a little more offended.

Offended by our ego. Offended by our self-righteousness. Offended by our sins.

Scandalon

Michael Card

The seers and the prophets had foretold it long ago That the long awaited one would make men stumble
But they were looking for a king to conquer and to kill Who'd have ever thought He'd be so weak and humble

He will be the truth that will offend them one and all A stone that makes men stumble
And a rock that makes them fall Many will be broken so that He can make them whole
And many will be crushed and lose their own soul
Along the path of life there lies a stubborn Scandalon And all who come this way must be offended
To some He is a barrier, To others He's the way For all should know the scandal of believing