Sex And It's Consequences Have Far-Reaching Effects for Years to Come Even for Pastors

The death of Pastor Zachery Tims has brought to mind the far reaching implications of the consequences of sex outside of marriage. I first met Pastor Tims many years ago in a local Christian TV station in Orlando, Florida. I found him to be personable, affable and charismatic. He and his wife were newly-minted pastors of a new church creating waves in the community. Looking back on it, it was one of those moments in time that left an indelible mark on me. It was an occasion when then-football player Deion Sanders was touring and giving his testimony of being delivered from sexual sin which destroyed his marriage.

Over the years I have enjoyed Pastor Tims' ministry. In fact, I have memorialized him in my Bible for a sermon he preached in 2001, from Habakkuk on the power of a dream. That message uplifted me at a time in my life when I needed to hold onto my dream. Regretably in 2009, I learned of Pastor Tims' indiscretion which resulted in divorce from his wife of 15 years.

We cannot overlook the connection between sex outside of marriage and the resulting chaos that it brings. It doesn't matter whether you believe in God or not, the fact is once we get married, we are required to be faithful to our spouses. Outside the church the consequences of extra-marital sex involve divorce, disease, displacement, separation, etc. And that's just for starters. The point is within or outside the church once we choose to ignore our marital vows and indulge ourselves in sexual relationships we will reap the sorrow.

There is a recent case of another high profile pastor accused of committing sexual acts on young men. The consequences of his actions will manifest in time to come. There is no getting away from it, these are the rules if engagement by which we live our lives. In any corporation or company once you join, you are given a hand book which details your rights privileges and rules of acceptable behavior. It lists consequences of violating the code of ethics established for the organization. Similarly, the Bible is the code of ethics for pastors, bishops, church leaders and all Christians to follow. It is what it is. When you signed up for it you were given this handbook with the code of ethics to follow. It listed our rights, privileges, and rules of engagement. It also listed consequences for failure to follow the guidelines.

The result of sexual sin is death. Death of marriage, death of ministry, and now in two cases we have witnessed physical death - Bishop Earl Paulk of Atlanta and now Pastor  Zachery Tims. Let this serve as a wake up call to the church. We cannot escape the consequences of our actions. Even when we have confessed and repented, we are still held and bound by the Handbook.