I had a very heated argument with a beloved friend who doubles as my wife over Ese Walter and her ex-pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo's saga.
On the grand assumption that the story as reported by Ese Walter is true, here are my submissions:
1.Both of them being christians and consenting adults erred grossly in putting themselves in a situation where they could not resist the urge of the flesh to sin against God and their bodies. In this they both are in the same boat.
2. I hold the pastor to a higher standard of accountability considering that he is not just a pastor but Ese's revered pastor and also that he is married. If he could descend that low, what would we expect from his junior pastors and church members? This is where they begin to differ.
3. Even though what they did was in the past, it is evident that what happened was not some minor misdemeanor between just the two of them but a sin against God, against the pastor's wife, against the church and against their own bodies thus creating a footstool for the devil whom the scriptures describes as the accuser of the brethren to operate. Hence the least any christian with a living conscience would have done after securing God's forgiveness was to come clean with their spouse, the church and probably the other person.
This is where I find the light and day difference between the two of them. One person has a conscience that is alive, the others conscience is seared and it is to this end that I commend Ese Walter not for her mistakes but for the steps she took in correcting the mistakes of her past. For Ese, I can only hope JESUS has become lord indeed and lord of all.
On the other hand, I call on the pastor not to further complicate his life by means of cover-ups. Always remember that that was what led David to murder Uraiah after he slept with his wife Bethsheba. Tell the truth and seek your wife's and the church's forgiveness. Trust me, If you handle this well, five years down the line, you will look back and thank God.
Christianity is afterall not a religion of people who don't fall. We get knocked down, but we don't give up. We get up and stay at it. 2 cor 4:8-9.
Am praying for you pastor.