By now you’ve probably heard about the Moment of Truth episode that aired last Monday. If you aren’t aware, The Moment of Truth is a game show where contestants are asked probing personal questions while strapped to a polygraph machine and are awarded cash for answering honestly.
Last week’s episode has drawn a lot of attention and controversy because viewers nationwide watched as a young marriage was destroyed in front of a studio audience. Lauren Cleary was asked questions like “were you convinced you were in love with an ex-boyfriend on your wedding day?” and “have you had sexual relations with someone other than your husband since being married?”–both of which elicited positive answers.
As sad as it was to see this poor woman’s shame exposed and her family’s shock and despair flaunted on national television, what really caught my attention was the final question she was asked:
“Do you think you’re a good person?”
After thinking for a second, Lauren–who has already admitted to stealing from work and marital infidelity–answered yes, she did think she was a good person. Unfortunately for Lauren, all her self-disclosure didn’t win her any money because the polygraph said that this statement was false. Host Mark Walberg had this to say:
“It came back as a lie, which means that somewhere in you, you haven’t forgiven yourself and that somewhere your truth is that you don’t think you’re a good person at all.”
This just brings to mind a couple of insights. First, it seems that most people truly believe that they are good. I’m sure that we, like Lauren, have convinced ourselves that we are mostly good or that we’ve learned from our mistakes. Second, I believe that deep down inside we all have an understand that we are inherently not good. We all know that we have broken an absolute moral code in some way.
And this means that people are really broken deep down inside. I’m sure Lauren and her family have gone through a lot of pain since that episode was filmed and I’m sure there’s more to come. I’m also sure that there are people we see every day–friends, family, neighbors, baristas–who are hurting inside. They may act like they’ve got life together. They may act uninterested. But at their core they are broken and in need of a Savior.
Let’s be a light to those people today! My prayers are with Lauren and her family and with you today as you seek to show God’s love to a desperately needy world.
Tags: Adultery, Evangelism, Marriage, Moment of Truth, Morality, Sin, TV