There are so many things wrong with this, I don’t even know where to start.

For those who aren’t in Australia (or who haven’t been following the news), here’s a recap: there was a Four Corners story this week called ‘The Code of Silence’, addressing the question: “After a decade of allegations relating to alcohol, women and sex, can Australian rugby league clean up its game? “ Late last week, the story was broken (before the show aired) that one of the events discussed in the program was about a group sex incident in 2004 involving a 19 year old woman and players from the Cronulla Sharks.  One of them was identified as Matthew Johns, a presenter on Channel 9’s Footy Show.  He has since lost his job with the show and his coaching contract, the head of the NRL has come out and told players that that sort of conduct won’t be tolerated and if they don’t like it, get out of the game. 

Now I’m by no means a follower of NRL (or any sport).  But I just read this response this morning by an anonymous player, who is upset that group sex might be denied them.  This player says,

I don’t know how a chief executive can come out and say we can’t have group sex if it’s consensual. It’s like discrimination because that is a person’s private life. It’s like saying you can’t be homosexual, or you can’t have such-and-such sexual preferences. How can he tell us what we can do in our private lives? ... We already have so many rules: we can’t drink on these days, we can’t go to these places, now we can’t have group sex. About the only thing we can do these days is go to club functions, and just hang around other players. That’s just isolating us more from the rest of the world, and it could lead to even more violent acts.

It’s a ridiculous reaction, don’t you think?  Okay, sure, I’m under no illusions that the NRL has probably seen itself in an untenable position, had a knee-jerk reaction and is desperately trying to keep the public onside by putting more restrictions on its players.  And I’m pretty sure that many of the men in the NRL feel the same way as this anonymous player, but where is the moral compass here?  Is there one?  How can they, in the first place, think that this kind of behaviour is okay?  That you can treat a woman however you want, but “everyone knows that if you’re polite afterwards and pay her cab fare home you usually don’t have any problems.” Matthew Johns’ response (on A Current Affair) was “I did not commit an act of abuse to that woman . . . I am guilty of infidelity to my wife and absolute stupidity.” But treating another human being in this appalling way is alright.

It made me angry and quite disgusted that anyone could possibly think that this was an appropriate response to the situation - but at the same time made me think, well, here’s a most blatant example of sin in action.  Not saying that having group sex is a worse sin than any other, but the attitude behind it (or as we discussed at Bible study last night, looking at the “sin behind the sin").  It’s like a little kid chucking a tantrum because they’re not allowed to do whatever they want.  And, to God, that’s what it’s like when we disobey him.  He has offered us the riches of his kingdom, and we basically lie on the floor kicking our heels and crying because he’s told us not to do things that are going to hurt us.  Or other people.

It’s just a glimpse into a world that isn’t anything new or even the worst depths of depravity.  It’s just that it’s been pushed into the mainstream spotlight and elicited all sorts of horrified reactions (like mine!).  But the thing is, there is not one person who could say that they were any better than any of these men.  Even though we might not be doing things as blatant as these foolish men, our hearts are in the same place.  Johns being stripped of his career is minor compared to what every single one of us deserves, because of our ignoring of God. 

So I am thoroughly grateful for God’s mercy, for sending Jesus to take that punishment - not just for me, but for the whole world.  For these NRL players.  For the women involved.  For anyone who turns to him.  It’s immense.  It should make us cry tears of gratitude, not tears of defiance.  We should be wholeheartedly committing our lives to living God’s way, not throwing tantrums about it.