PRESIDENT CLINTON’S

TRUMP’S SINS AREN’T PRIVATE

By FRANKLIN GRAHAM
WSJ 8/27/98 Ever so slightly updated May 5, 2018

Few people have lived a more public life over the past 50 years than
has my father, Billy Graham. I can assure you that the Billy Graham
you see in public is the same one we children have seen at home. He
has spent a lifetime making sure that his public ministry is confirmed
in his private behavior.

The topic of private vs. public behavior has emerged as perhaps the central moral issue raised by Donald
Trump’s “improper relationship” with Adult Film Star/Director Stormy Daniels. Much of America seems to
have succumbed to the notion that what a person does in private has little bearing on his public actions or job
performance, even if he is the President of the United States.

But the God of the Bible says that what one does in private does matter. Mr. Trump’s extramarital sexual
behavior, shortly after after the birth of his youngest son, now concerns him and the rest of the world, not just
his immediate family. If he will lie to or mislead his wife and family, those with whom he is most intimate,
what will prevent him from doing the same to the American public?

Private conduct does have public consequences. Some of Mr. Trump’s defenders present King David of the
Bible, one of history’s great leaders, as an example, as they call on us to forgive and forget the president’s moral
failings. Since God pardoned David’s adulterous act with Bathsheba, the reasoning goes, we should similarly
forgive Mr. Trump. But forgiveness is not the end of David’s story. Huge consequences followed immediately.
The prophet Nathan confronted David with the news that while his life would be spared, the life of his child
would be extinguished after just seven days on earth. Bathsheba’s husband and others were killed in an attempt
to cover up the illicit affair. David, who confessed his sin when confronted by Nathan (perhaps God’s special
prosecutor), also witnessed a bloody coup attempt by his own son, Absalom. He was never the same king.

The private acts of any person are never done in secret. God sees and judges all sin, and while He seeks to
restore the offender with love and grace, He does not necessarily remove all the consequences of our sin. As a
boy, I remember my mother telling me of the consequences of sin. Like a boat, whose wake can capsize other
boats, sin leaves a wake. Just look at how many have already been pulled under by the wake of the president’s
sin: Mr. Trump’s wife and children, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Daniels, other accusers, White House staff members,
friends and supporters, public officials, and an unwitting American public.

Mr. Trump’s sin can be forgiven, but he must start by admitting to it and refraining from legalistic doublespeak
and/or constantly morphing stories. According to the Scripture, the president did not have an “inappropriate
relationship” with Stormy Daniels – he committed adultery. He didn’t “mislead” his wife and us — he lied.
Acknowledgment must be coupled with genuine remorse. A repentant spirit that says, “I’m sorry. I was wrong.
I won’t do it again. I ask for your forgiveness,” would go a long way toward personal and national healing.

The scandal of Mr. Trump and Ms. Daniels has forced us to examine the morality of public and private
behavior with new intellectual and spiritual vigor. There needs to be no clash between personal conduct and
public appearance. Throughout my life, I have seen consistency of the two in the Graham house. I pray this
will also be true in the White House.