A week after the Tiger Woods scandal broke many folks began saying that Mr. Woods is a sex addict. As reported recently, “Manhattan author and therapist Bonnie Eaker Weil said of Woods’ situation that repetitive cheating is an addiction. ‘What begins with a desire to relieve stress or mute depression easily progresses to a preoccupation with where their next ‘fix’ will come from.’….Pro athletes, accustomed to the rush of celebrity, often look to sex for a similar high.” The article continues: “Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of VH1’s ‘Sex Rehab With Dr. Drew,’ told CBS News that addiction ‘has people doing things that don't make sense.’ [Jaimie] Grubbs claims to have more than 300 text messages from Woods saved on her phone and has released a voicemail she says is from Woods, asking her to change the name on her caller ID, saying that ‘my wife may be calling you.’”

The epic saga of Tiger Wood’s fall from being touted as a model citizen and athletic superstar to a reckless, self-centered, out-of-control sex addict serves as a leadership lesson for all of us. The following are important principles we need to take seriously for ourselves and those we are leading. Leaders need to build their lives upon the solid foundation of good character and morals, not on gifts and abilities. You can master the art of making money but miss it in the arena of developing moral standards. This will eventually drag you down. Character serves as the wind beneath our wings carrying us into a successful future! Abilities will give us immediate recognition and possibly fame but will only last a brief period of time!

A friend recently asked me, “Is monogamy realistic in 21st century?” That made me thinking. In an age of divorce, hookup culture and widespread infidelity, “till death do us part’ seems nearly impossible. Celebrities are openly flaunting their extra-marital exploits! With people constantly moving from place to place and changing jobs like they do with clothes, the ‘use and throw’ attitude is creeping into our thinking of how we view relationships like that of marriage.

Many a young Christian has ruined his life because of unholy alliance in marriage. Marriage is a yoke. The Bible forbids unequal yoke (2 Cor 6:14). "You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together" (Dt 22:10). Both the Old and the New Testaments strongly condemn intermarriage with unbelievers. Intermingling the "holy seed" with the unconverted is called as "trespass, transgression, iniquity and guilt" (Ezra 9:1-6). Even a widow who is a believer is not permitted to marry an unbeliever. "She is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord" (1 Cor 7:39).

Like every girl, I enjoy a good love story. However, this one was different. As children growing up in Kerala, Marcus and Annamma Chacko lived just five kilometers apart. Their communities never intermingled. Marcus explains, "Though we hail from the same place, her people and my people had nothing much to do with each other because we belonged to two different castes." They finally met in Uttar Pradesh. Marcus was a guest singer at a music hall where
Annamma was in the audience. She instantly felt an affinity to Marcus when he sang in their mother tongue, Malayalam. After a three-minute conversation, they parted ways. Two years later they ran into each other again while working for the same nonprofit organization. Though in separate departments, they couldn't help but admire each other's warmth, energy, and passion for social justice.