empathy for the home wrecker

There’s a famous home wrecker many secretly empathise with.

ever wondered how it feels to be 'the other woman'?

She was the one that was caught butt naked in the throes of passion with her married lover by bearded men who revelled in her shame and guilt, passing instant judgement on her, pronouncing capital punishment – a very public stoning.

I see a lot of myself in this nameless, shameful woman. She knew she was doing something very wrong yet she went ahead and did it. Many times I commit such atrocities intentionally, hiding behind the thought that I won’t get caught and if I do, tell myself I can handle the repercussion.

This woman was well known for her sin – defined by her mistakes. I identify with the weakness she must have felt, throwing caution to the wind. She debased herself as a woman and allowed herself to be taken by one who had given herself to another.

I have so many questions for this woman. It’s not clear if she could have justified her sin because she was in love with an unavailable man, all we know is she got caught. Like most people, I wonder where the man was when she was dragged and beaten and was about to be stoned. Was be skulking in the bushes or was he one of her accusers. I even wonder was she taken advantage of, raped and abused and them a victim of prejudice?

Whatever the circumstances, she was party to the sin, she did not deny it. And like her I know before I do something wrong that I can stop myself. There’s that split second when I think about it for a bit and consider whether to do it or not… It’s at that point I can discipline myself and refrain – but rather choose to roll with the punches and succumb to the lure of temptation.

imagine being caught in the act

This famous home wrecker was the luckiest person on death row. Falling at the feet of the only person that could save her, she pleaded for mercy and sought forgiveness. I feel like God’s grace and forgiveness has become a sort of gift and curse, abused and bastardised by people of faith who hide behind it and use it a passport to live imperfect sinful lives. Have we been lying to ourselves that as people we will forever be imperfect and we can not live lives free of sin. Have we gobbled up a lie that we are only human? Surely we have the ability to live righteous and pure lives – that we do not, is not because of an innate weakness, rather it is a result of an overarching desire for evil rather than holiness.

With few spoken words, Jesus challenged her accusers to see themselves in her. Do you see the adulteress in you? Loving and desiring those things you should, lacking discipline and self control, being irresponsible and selfish with a devil-may-care attitude?

I feel like there is a bit of an adulteress in all of us. Let him that is without sin, cast the first stone…

I’ve heard the story of this famous adulteress so many times but always missed the best part of it. She could have been a sinner of any kind, and the outcome would have been the same, the truth would still remain, that she has control, dominion over her actions and most importantly like her, we all have the ability not to sin.

My empathy for the famous adulteress opened my eyes to my own ignorance – I’ve lived like her in sin for many years, resting on my laurels and believing that I am bound to keep on reliving the harrowing experience of beig caught butt naked, pants dangling by my ankles, exposed to fatal criticism and judgement with fingers pointing at me dooming consigning me to a life time of sin and eternal damnation.

So like the adulteress, I will grovel and beg for salvation and take the liberation with bated breathy while my accusers are chastised. I choose to get up from my filth, dust myself off confident that I can live an extraordinary life of righteousness.

I can be free because the voice of the only one who is truth says, ” go and sin no more.”
But i can’t help but wonder, with such strong, definitive words, Why is it so hard to believe we can live without sin?

John 8:1-12