Needing More: Thoughts on Ashley Madison

So, scrolling through Facebook last week a good friend had posted this article. It has haunted me. I have been late in my post because I was mulling. To sum it up, after 33 million Ashley Madison accounts were leaked, Avid Life Media reported the following week that hundreds of thousands of new accounts started. HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS! People know the risk of being exposed and yet hundreds of thousands signed up to arrange "discreet" affairs to cheat on the one they are already with. The fear of being caught must add to the thrill of infidelity. 

I have to admit, I don't get it. When I heard about the exposure of the 33 million, I felt sad. So many people affected, devastated by hurtful choices. I was sad at people's willingness to condemn and point fingers. It is all just, UGH!

Then I read this article and all I could think was " What are people thinking?!" Some people took their lives as a result of being outed, the pain of many was exposed, and now Hundreds and Thousands are signing up, for that? What is happening? Does no one stop to think of the consequences? 

We have everything! Seriously. We lack nothing. We have some notion that we deserve what we want with no thought for anyone else? Why are we so dissatisfied with life? Why do we seek another thrill? Is our sexual appetite so insatiable that fear of discovery and evidence that it can happen is not enough to expose the insanity?

All I can think is that people are not satisfied because they have not found what they are lacking. " I still haven't found what I'm looking for" by U2 has been playing in my mind. Over and over.

As I thought about this, I wondered do I recognize this behaviour as the conduct of desperate people who are in need of more? Do I see this behaviour as the choices made by people who are longing for something out of life and not finding it? Do I recognize the desperate need of souls that were made for more?  Do I see people who are in need of an anchor that holds fast in a world that is tossed around by longing, emptiness and unreliable feelings? Do I feel compelled to have compassion? Where does this leave me as one who knows the one who offers fullness of life? 

The heartbreak I have felt over this has burdened me. I feel compelled to be bolder. I see so many people being pushed and pulled by the tides of the world. I know an Anchor. One who can give steadfastness, purpose and worth. I want to share that hope with others.