Secret Service Scandal
Eclipses Summit News
The Wired Word for April 22, 2012
In the News
Eleven U.S. Secret Service agents and 10 military personnel in Colombia to set up security in advance of President Obama's visit to that country have been relieved of their security clearances and called back to the United States following charges of partying with prostitutes and bringing 20 or 21 female foreign nationals back to their hotel.
This episode happened prior to Mr. Obama's arrival with about 30 other world leaders in Cartagena, Colombia, last weekend for the sixth Summit of the Americas. The event was intended to focus on trade in the Western Hemisphere and the U.S. relationship with Latin America, but allegations of misconduct among some U.S. personnel who were in Colombia to provide for the president's security is the main news story.
The partying of members of the advance security team apparently became known when one of the prostitutes complained to local police that after servicing two U.S. agents in a hotel room, the men wanted to split her price instead of paying for two encounters. (Prostitution is legal in much of Colombia.) The police investigated and then called the U.S. Embassy. Officials from the embassy arrived and established that 11 Secret Service agents had brought women back to their rooms in a hotel that was set up as a secure zone. The officials contacted Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, who immediately ordered the agents to fly home.
It was later learned that 10 members of a security detail of U.S. armed forces had also brought women to their rooms. They too were relieved of duty.
Director Sullivan has requested that an independent government investigator pursue the matter of the Secret Service members' behavior. The Pentagon is investigating the conduct of the military personnel.
Apart from issues of personal morality, the behavior of the men involved could have compromised the president's safety. Historically, women, and especially prostitutes, have been used to infiltrate opponent groups to obtain secret information. If the women involved in this incident had been part of a drug-dealing, terrorist or anti-American group, the president could have been put at risk.
The investigation so far has not found the women to have any such links. Investigators are also checking to see if any of the women were minors, but none have been shown to be thus far.
The men involved are telling different stories. While some are admitting that the women were prostitutes, others are saying they were women they met at the hotel bar.
Asked about the matter, President Obama said, "If it turns out that some of the allegations that have been made in the press are confirmed, then of course I'll be angry. We're representing the people of the United States. And when we travel to another country, I expect us to observe the highest standards."
The White House praised Director Sullivan for acting swiftly to launch an investigation and says that the president remains confident in him.
Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the incident has left the military "embarrassed." Referring to Mr. Obama, he said, "We let the boss down."
As of Thursday morning, three of the Secret Service agents involved in the scandal have been ousted from the service.
More on this story can be found at these links:
Scandal Ousts Three Secret Service Personnel. Washington Post
Conflicting Stories Emerge in Secret Service Scandal. USA Today
Prostitute's $50 Fee for Two Agents Triggered Secret Service Scandal. NBC News
Colombia Prostitution Scandal Prompts Military Investigation. San Francisco Chronicle
The Big Questions
1. Personal
morality is sometimes defined by what you do when you believe no one is
watching. Is that an adequate definition? Why or why not? What else would you
add to that definition? How does the belief that God always sees you affect
your conduct?
2. Where are
the foundations of personal morality found? Where do the definitions of right
and wrong come from? What makes them binding on individuals?
3. Is it a human
need to have times when we are "off the morality clock" and can
"let down our hair"? Does a "What happens in Vegas stays in
Vegas" mentality serve a mental health purpose or is that an excuse? What
does it do to one's spiritual life? Explain your answer.
4. Do you
sometimes feel that you are missing out on something because you avoid behaving
immorally? How do you deal with that notion?
5. What
things help you live up to the commitments you have made to others? What
personal safeguards have you put in place to keep you from succumbing to
temptations to which you know you are susceptible?
Confronting the News with Scripture
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Exodus 20:14
"You shall not commit adultery." (For context, read 20:1-17.)
The Ten Commandments are among the foundations on which personal morality is built, because together, they help to define right and wrong. In that regard, we could have quoted any one of the commandments as a starting point to discuss personal morality. We chose this one, however, because it probably has direct application to the news. As of Thursday, the identities of the offending Secret Service agents and military personnel have not been made public, but it's unlikely that they were all unmarried. Adultery refers to violating one's marriage vows, so at least some of the men involved probably broke this specific commandment in addition to violating the trust placed in them in their official capacities.
Question: When has one of the commandments helped you
to maintain personal morality?
1 Samuel 16:7
"... for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." (For context, read 16:1-13.)
To anoint the next king of Israel, God sent the prophet Samuel to the household of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who had eight sons. When Samuel saw the eldest, Eliab, who was impressive in appearance, Samuel assumed he was the one God had chosen. But God told Samuel not to be misled by Eliab's appearance or stature, "for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." Eventually, after Samuel had seen seven of the sons and heard no confirmation from God on any of them, the youngest son, David, was brought in. It was he whom the Lord had selected.
The verse above reminds us that God sees not only our potential, but also the intent of our heart. Thus, even when we think no one is watching, God is. Nothing is hidden from him.
Questions: How does the fact that nothing you do is
hidden from God shape your daily decisions? Why does this fact not deter some
people, even some Christians, from wrongdoing?
Jeremiah 25:3
"For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah, to this day, the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you, but you have not listened." (For context, read 25:1-7.)
Jeremiah had been preaching to his people for 23 years, and they had not heeded his warnings. Can you imagine working at something that was not succeeding for 23 years? And not just giving it an occasional try, but doing it persistently! How does anyone do that? How does a person get past the daily discouragement and disappointments? It is on the basis of commitments made previously, and on the daily renewal of them.
In the first chapter of his book, Jeremiah tells about his call to be God's prophet. One of the things God says to Jeremiah at that time is "But you, gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not break down before them ..." (Jeremiah 1:17). Clearly Jeremiah committed himself to that call.
It wasn't, however, just the strength of this early call that kept him going, but the fact that he renewed his commitment each day. He said, "For twenty-three years ... the word of the LORD has come to me." In other words, Jeremiah stayed in daily touch with God, and that resulted in the daily renewal of his first commitment. Most likely, Jeremiah didn't resolve at the start to stick it out for his lifetime, no matter what. Rather, each day he sought the Lord's help to be faithful for that day.
Questions:
What things do you do to
intentionally refresh your commitment to God? If you don't do that in some
form, what helps you to keep your initial spiritual commitment?
Mark 9:47
"And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell …" (For context, read 9:42-48.)
We don't think Jesus meant this statement about self-mutilation literally, but he certainly meant it seriously. He used dramatic and bloody imagery to make a powerful point about personal morality -- about how high the cost is of not living up to our higher values.
Questions:
What actual things ought
you to rip out of your life to be faithful to God and to your loved ones?
John 3:19
"And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil." (For context, read 3:17-21.)
One of the ways "darkness" functions in this verse is to mean "that which is hidden from sight." In other words, what you do when no one is watching. If you wouldn't want your friends or your spouse or your children or the general public to know what you are doing at certain times, then of course you love "darkness," and that ought to be a warning flag to consider whether the behavior involved is, as Jesus says in this verse, "evil."
We should note that in writing to the Corinthians, Paul says that one of the things the Lord will do when he comes is "bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and ... disclose the purposes of the heart" (1 Corinthians 4:5).
Questions: What is the difference between preferring
privacy and loving "darkness"? What things in your life do you need
to expose to God's light? What might happen to those things if you did?
Philippians 4:2-3
"I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel …" (For context, read 4:2-7.)
We don't know anything about Euodia and Syntyche other than what the apostle Paul tells us here -- that they both labored with Paul in the work of the gospel. We also don't know what the argument between them was, and we don't even know the identity of the "loyal companion" Paul was asking to help these women; most likely, she or he was a member of the Corinthian congregation.
But what is clear is that Paul sees the need for someone to assist these women. It might be that Paul was setting up an "accountability group," where the third person was not simply a negotiator but someone to whom the women would talk periodically to report what progress they were making in solving the issue between them. The third person would hold each woman accountable.
Questions: Where have you willingly submitted to
some form of accountability as a framework for moral living? Where have you not
done so but could likely benefit from it? What accountability frameworks exist
within your congregation of which you might avail yourself?
For Further Discussion
1. A few
years ago, a minister who is in demand as a speaker at religious conferences
and other events said that he never accepts invitations where he has to stay
overnight unless his wife is available to accompany him. He does so not just
because he likes her company, but also because he wants to avoid any
opportunities for sexual temptation. There's never been even a whiff of scandal
regarding this man, but it seems he intentionally works to keep it that way.
How might some version of this plan be of benefit to you? Clearly this
arrangement wouldn't be possible for Secret Service agents or military on
assignment -- or even for most people on business trips -- so what are some
other actions that might be taken to aid in not being led into temptation.
2. Comment on
this: A man of faith we know who did yield to sexual temptation (and destroyed
his marriage in the process) said that one reason he was susceptible was
because he had large blocks of time and sufficient money for which he was
accountable to no one. He's working now to rebuild his life and purposely
attends a men's group at his church where the participants hold one another
responsible for how each is living his life.
3. While
there is much behavior that people don't want others to know about, there is
other bad behavior that people record on video and post on the Internet for all
to see. What accounts for that? Are some people proud of their immoral
escapades? Do some have difficultly connecting behavior with consequences?
4. Comment on
James 4:17: "Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do
it, commits sin."
Responding to the News
This is a good occasion to review our own behavior, consider whether there are any places where we prefer "darkness" and what that implies. Each of us benefits from accountability structures in our life. If we don't have such structures, this is a good time to establish and nurture them.
Closing Prayer
O God, help us to live faithfully as disciples of Jesus Christ -- all the time. In his name. Amen.
Copyright 2012
Communication Resources
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