Herschel Walker, the football star turned Trump-endorsed candidate for the US Senate is running as a self-confessed born-again Christian.
Whether the conservative Republican Party takes back the senate in November may turn on whether Walker defeats the democrat, Raphael Warnock for a Georgia seat.
It’s African-American versus African American with the football hero up against a minister who occupies the pulpit of another sort of hero at Martin Luther King jr’s Ebenezer Baptist church.
Walker has been accused of paying for a former girlfriend’s abortion – but it’s his comments in denying this allegation that is the focus here. They reflect how he connects Christianity and behaviour, something we are all called to do.
“I’m saying it’s not true when they’re talking about me paying for someone’s abortion,” he tells Hugh Hewitt https://hughhewitt.com/herschel-walker-returns/ a host of the powerful Christian Salem radio network. “And so when they talk about me paying for someone’s abortion, that is not true. And all this stuff that is coming out is not true, you know. And I’m not sure what Christian is talking about, because he said some things. And I just said I love Christian. I’m not going to debate or talk about that, you know, out in public, because I need to know exactly what he’s talking about, or what he’s upset about with me and everything.”
Walker here talks about the abortion allegation, and also issues raised by his estranged son, Christian about Walker’s lack of involvement and neglect of his family.
He goes on to tell Hewitt that the Georgia public is concerned with immigration, drugs (particularly fentanyl) and gas (petrol) prices rather than his personal life – and the election result may show he is correct about that. But he adds “That’s what the left don’t want to talk about, but I’m talking about that, because as I said, they can continue to try to hurt me by bringing up my past. It’s like robbing my old house. I don’t live there anymore.”
Yet being saved, and we will take Walker’s word for that as we should, does not mean we do not have to deal with our past, the people we may hurt and still may hurt and the debts we need to pay.
The Bible’s example is Zacchaeus the chief tax collector who climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Jesus.
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
(Luke 19:5–8)
Being saved, by the pier of God’s Spirit involves repentance.
According to Yahoo news at a press conference “Have you reached out to any of the mothers of your children?” asked a reporter. Walker said he had not, and then asked why he would need to.
“Well, because, according to the [Daily Beast]article, the woman who says that you paid for her to have an abortion is also the mother of one of your children,” the reporter continued. “It seems like that’s an easy way to —”
“Because of the article, I had more kids,” Walker said. “That’s why I didn’t reach out to anyone, because I said no, and that’s what I mean when I said no. I said that’s not correct, that’s a lie. Then that’s what I mean, that’s a lie.”
(We’re not sure exactly what he is saying. But regardless of the abortion allegation Walker has four children by multiple mothers. He needs to be looking after them. At least he needs, surely nofollow up with the women involved in the abortion allegation, who later reports say bore him one of his children.
Walker explained a comment to Hewitt he had “nothing to be ashamed of” as referring to his son Christian’s mother. He told the reporters. “I said anything happened with my ex-wife or what Christian was talking about — I don’t know, but as I said, if anything happened I have nothing to be ashamed of. My ex-wife and I have been the best of friends with her husband and my wife. So that’s the things I’ve said.”
It would seem that he has to follow things up with his son, too.
His past, is his old house as he puts it. He doesn’t live there anymore – but he has responsibilities to those he has left behind.
Christianity is not about evading responsibility, it is about becoming more and more responsible. And doing the Zacchaeus thing.