Skeletons in the Closet

Miss California, Carrie Prejean, was pilloried by many for her stand on one man-one woman marriage. Her answer to Perez Hilton was clear and sensitive. I wonder why such a loaded question was allowed in the contest to begin with, but that's another subject.

No it turns out that Miss Prejean has some semi-nude pictures in her past. The first one that has been published was a lingerie modeling shoot and, while it shows a whole lot more than I want my daughter revealing, is a long ways from porn. The most recent report suggests that there are three more racy pictures. Until they surface, neither I nor anyone else can express an opinion on them. We will probably see if it's true and the nature of these pics over the next couple of days.

I am not surprised that she has been attacked an neither should she. Possibly she did lose the Miss USA crown over the answer, which is unfair. I applaud her for giving a truthful and morally correct answer.

She has reacted to the uproar over her photos by calling it an attack on her Christian values. And she is correct. When you don't like the message, attack the messenger.

But Miss Prejean shares some of the blame here. She posed for the photo (an possibly more--we'll see). Further, she was not content (nor was the Christian media) to just give her answer, lose the title, and then go on her way. No, she milked her 15 minutes of fame by appearing everywhere to defend herself and her answer. In so doing, she set herself up for attack.

I am against gay marriage and believe in the right of everyone to speak out. But what makes a beauty queen some kind of expert or role model? Why should she think that her opinion needs to be heard. By speaking out anywhere and everywhere she made herself a target.

Being a target would be okay had her closet been clean of skeletons. The particular photo is one that could appear in nearly any magazine in the country, but it is a morally questionable choice for a young Christian woman with stron moral values.

I am not saying that she should not have spoken out. But she also should have known that any photos that she took in the past would come out. If she is surprised, then she is quite naive.

James (3:1-2) said that not everyone should strive to be a teacher because they have greater accountability. The larger principle revealed by this statement applies to anyone who will dare to speak out in society. Make sure your own house is in order before you put yourself before the world as an example of morality.