The issue of private sin is not exclusive to Tiger Woods. It is an epidemic in America.

The story of Tiger Woods is tragic but it is not unfamiliar. A public figure, at the height of his career, is caught in moral failure. Like Bill Murray's character in the movie, Ground Hog Day, we awaken to the same scenario over and over again until lessons are learned and results change.

The following are 10 lessons we can learn from the Tiger Woods affair:

1. Success without grounding and accountability is failure.
2. Money and fame are not equals to character and honor.
3. Public performance and private life are not exclusive of one another – good judgment is the common thread.
4. Few things command greater respect than a person accepting full responsibility for his actions.
5. When marital vows are honored, heartache is kept at bay.
6. Forgiveness is so powerful that it is at times one's only hope.
7. Today's secrets are tomorrow's revelations.
8. One's greatest legacy is one's family.
9. It is never too late to do what is right.
10. The greatest comebacks are found not in the arena of sports but in matters of the heart.

The issue of private sin is not exclusive to Tiger Woods. It is an epidemic in America. We have become a morally schizophrenic nation. We have quietly tolerated and fueled a ten billion dollar pornography industry. America's best selling books, movies and songs glamorize the very same actions for which people now condemn Tiger Woods. The Bible described the dilemma thousands of years ago, "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure." Ecclesiastes 2:10

As Tiger Woods steps away from golf indefinitely to focus on his family and his inner struggles we are reminded of our own responsibilities. Our energies are best pursued, not in pointing a finger at Tiger Woods but in taking a stand against the factors that contribute to moral delinquency in America. We have lost our moral compass. We have turned our backs on God. The hope for Tiger Woods and America are the same... humble ourselves, repent and return to our first love.

What constitutes reality? Are these programs snapshots of the American experience or are they the offerings of producers bent on further pushing the envelope?

Reality TV has penetrated all manner of news lately. It appears that those who would seek a short cut to fame and fortune need only find a way to crash a state dinner at the White House; pretend your child’s life is in peril on a run away helium balloon or have an inordinate amount of kids through in vitro fertilization. I suggest that there are 10 reasons that reality TV should be held accountable:

1. It reduces human emotions to ratings.
2. It appeals to our lowest instincts.
3. It sets up a dangerous reward system.
4. It takes advantage of people’s desperation.
5. It promotes notoriety without responsibility.
6. It gives place to those who seek unmerited honor.
7. It contributes to the delinquency of our national conscience.
8. It glamorizes dysfunction.
9. It pads the pockets of those who place monetary gain over values.

What constitutes reality? Are these programs snapshots of the American experience or are they the offerings of producers bent on further pushing the envelope? Whereas those who willingly participate in such programs are placing themselves in a position to be exploited, there is a larger responsibility that rests with those who provide an atmosphere for such exploitation and who profit from the misfortune of others.

Although not all reality TV is devoid of values, such programming often succumbs to the need to shock and awe viewers for the sake of ratings. As long as there is an appetite for such programming on the part of the general public, there will be an ample supply. People will seek the rewards that come with breeching White House

The question that will define us more than any other is — upon what do we base our worldview? Here are ten of the truths that shape the way I see the world.

In a generation marked by relativism the public arena is filled with differing views on the largest issues of our time. The primary source from which we draw our worldview defines where we stand and why. The following are 10 biblical truths that shape my worldview:

1. Every human being has innate dignity: Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in His own image.”

2. Life is to be valued from the womb: Psalm 139:13 “You knit me together in my mother’s womb.”

3. A nation that honors God will prosper but a nation that turns its back on God will not: Proverbs 14:34 “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”

4. Image without character comes up short: I Samuel 16:7 “Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.”

5. We make an eternal investment when we tend to the poor: Proverbs 19:17 “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deeds.”

6. We are nurturing God’s handiwork when we protect the earth: Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

7. We must stand against injustice wherever it is found: Amos 5:15 “Hate evil, and love good and establish justice.”

8. Possessions alone will never satisfy the heart of man: Luke 12:15 “…be on guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

9. Love has the power to heal a broken world: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

10. Death is not the final word: Isaiah 25:8 “He will swallow up death for all time.”

The Scriptures tell us that it is in seeking first the Kingdom of God that we properly prioritize everything else. The issues that we face on a global and personal level demand that our convictions and actions be based in something more than subjectivity. The question that will define us more than any other is upon what do we base our worldview?

Ten qualities we need in our public leaders as we head back to the voting booth on Tuesday.

As we embark upon a midterm election, our nation considers who will be granted the honor of leading us in the days ahead. The times in which we live demand that we choose wisely. The following are 10 qualities needed in our public leaders:

1. Courage to make hard decisions.
2. Character and a set of core values that merit trust.
3. A clear vision for the future.
4. The ability to call forth the best in others.
5. Discipline.
6. Recognition that he/she is accountable to the people.
7. The ability to see things, not simply as they are but as they ought to be.
8. The respect of his/her family.
9. The flexibility to learn, improve and adjust.
10. A track record of placing the good of the people over personal ambition.

Our ability to vote came at a price. It is our duty to make certain that we are informed and that we take part in this vital civic responsibility. Nations rise and fall as to the caliber of their leaders. The quality of our leaders is dependent on us.

Moral outrage is the intersection of morality and deep seated convictions. As Americans our decision to speak out or remain silent, act with conviction or step back, will create the world our children will inherit.

Were it not for moral outrage America would be under British rule and the Emancipation Proclamation would never have been penned. Moral outrage, by its very definition, is the intersection of morality and deep seated convictions. The following are 10 reasons for moral outrage:

1. Our forefathers acknowledged our creator God in the Declaration of Independence, but we are forbidden to acknowledge him in our public schools. 2.Our entertainment industry glamorizes sexuality yet is held unaccountable despite the rising rate of out-of-wedlock teenage pregnancies.
2. Moral relativism continues to reign in our public schools even though a nation reaps the results of such relativism with unprecedented greed on Wall Street.
3. 39.8 million people live below the poverty line in America — over 14.1 million of them are children — yet close to 100 billion pounds of food is wasted each year.
4. There have been over 50 million abortions since Roe vs. Wade became the law of the land with the vast majority being for no other reason than simple birth control.
5. Darwinism is taught as fact while Creationism is excluded from the American classroom.
6. More Christians were killed for their faith in the 20th century than in the entire history of Christianity.
7. A cross erected in 1934, at a WWI memorial site in the Mojave Desert, is currently at the center of a debate over whether or not its presence violates the Constitution.
8. The Ten Commandments have been taken from our court houses.
9. The community of faith is, in large measure, quiet and complacent.

It has been said that all that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing. Ultimately we will be judged not by our titles or bank accounts but by something far more sacred. Future generations hang in the balance. Whether we speak out or remain silent, act or step back will create the inheritance we bequeath.