I’ve delayed writing anything about the accusations against Georgia pastor Eddie Long, as it doesn’t seem there is anything redemptive that can be said about the sordid situation. Long was one of several people I had in mind when I wrote this column more than five years ago. Anyone with an ounce of discernment who has observed Long’s ministry could have seen this coming, as with nearly every moral failure among high-profile ministers that we’ve observed in the last few years.

Although the accusations against him have not yet been proven in court, the trajectory of a ministry characterized by false teaching, greed, manipulation, arrogance, lack of accountability, ethical ambiguity, etc. naturally leads to sexual immorality. Because both the American church and culture are fixated on sex, scandals like the one Eddie Long is facing attract morbid curiosity. However, this scandal is not about sex. We fumble around attempting to solve the “sex problem” in the church by setting up counseling programs, forcing pastors to take lie detector tests, initiating background checks, arranging accountability structures—anything to avoid having to address the root issue: idolatry.

When the treasure of Christ alone is replaced with the idols of religious activity, mystical encounters, superstar status, political power, financial prosperity, etc., God turns people over in judgment to their own affections. This is Romans 1:18-32 in action:

“… For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator …”

My daughter was recently exposed to a “sex talk” by a well-meaning Christian fool. In the process of withholding my rage and re-educating her I once again became aware of how spiritually bankrupt the church becomes when it divorces the gospel from topics as important as sex.

The gist of the “talk” was an urban-legend style, fear-based appeal to stay out of bed, or you might end up like the girl who spent a crazy weekend with a guy, who afterward gave her an appreciation gift. When she opened the package it contained a little wood coffin, in which was a piece of paper with the words, “Welcome to the world of AIDS.”

Since when is it effective to use fear of death to keep teens out of trouble? My kids want to skydive, jump their bikes over ramps and pick up snakes. They crave danger and risk. Dare I say, it’s how God wired them?

This may sound harsh, but fear is the only wrench in the toolbox of biblically illiterate and immature Christians who are too lazy or ignorant to piece together an articulate biblical case for purity. But what happens when we find a cure for AIDS—and I pray we will? What happens when our advanced culture removes all the potential earthly consequences for sin—and we may?

“Everyone in a relationship wrestles at some point with an eternal question: can one person really satisfy every need?” So says Newsweek‘s Jessica Bennett in a recent article on polyamory.

I have to agree, and with the proponents of polyamory interviewed in the article, I concur that the practice is natural. It is as natural as sailors stranded on a lifeboat for weeks plunging their faces over the side to drink their fill of saltwater. Anyone seeking satisfaction in human relationships is seeking a truly noble thing. The logic is seemingly solid: If I can find pleasure in the companionship of one person, that pleasure would be multiplied by multiplying the number of people with whom I’m enjoying that pleasure. It’s a no-brainer.

The problem is that these seekers will always come up empty. They are carnivores at a salad bar. We were not created for each other. We were created for God, and we will only find satisfaction in the One for whom we were made.

“Thou hast made us for Thyself O God, and the heart of man is restless until it finds its rest in Thee.” – Augustine

I’d love to hear some of the Christian culture warriors respond to the trend of polyamory with this angle. I think it would throw the media a curveball.