Truth or Consequences

Bob Barker, a name synonymous with American game show history, hosted a nearly twenty-year run of “Truth or Consequences.” His tag line was familiar to his faithful television viewers: “Hoping all your consequences are happy ones.”

His sentiment matched the theme of his show, where contestants performed silly stunts and were rewarded for their efforts, even by a reunion with a long-lost relative or military personnel serving overseas. But in real life, not all consequences are happy ones. In fact, we live life knowing that while there may be rewards based on good behavior, there are unwelcome consequences to behaviors that harm another or break the norms of our society – consequences that reach far beyond the individual actor.

Think of Bill Cosby. We served in ministry just blocks from where Cosby grew up in Philadelphia, and remember well Cosby’s familiar words: “Hey, hey, hey, Fat Albert.” We even had one of his comedy records at our house. Now, this iconic actor, whose portrayal of the affable Cliff Huxtable charmed millions of households in the 80s, has been convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to prison for his actions.

In reading about Cosby’s show, I discovered that Cosby wanted Vanessa L. Williams cast as his screen wife, Claire Huxtable, but because Williams had recently been selected as Miss America, the pageant officials wouldn’t allow her to be in the television series. Williams soon faced her own set of consequences when Penthouse Magazine published nude photos of Williams, taken when she was a photographer’s assistant two years previous. The photographer assured her at the time that the photos would never leave the studio, but that promise was famously broken and she was forced to resign her crown. 

Ironically, in William’s case, Playboy Magazine reportedly took the high road and declined to publish the photos. According to Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner, “the single victim in all of this was the young woman herself, whose right to make this decision was taken away from her. If she wanted to make this kind of statement, that would be her business, but the statement wasn’t made by her.” 

In thinking about these two situations, it’s clear that even outside of the legal punishment that Cosby is facing, consequences run deep. With Cosby, as witnessed by impact statements at his sentencing, many women have suffered under his unwanted and potentially criminal attention for many years, and a country’s admiration for Cosby has been forever tarnished. And while Williams has been successful in her career, she’s never escaped the whispered reminders of her disgrace. Her family and friends, along with the greater African-American community, were devastated when the first Black Miss America was stripped of her crown under such ugly circumstances. 

Yet here’s a challenge: one protest sign after William’s forced removal repeated the words of Jesus: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Dig deep enough into our personal history, and there’s something we’ve done, something we’re ashamed of, something that’s hurt someone else, even if from many years ago. 

Knowing that, where does forgiveness fit in? Can people be rehabilitated? Teachings of faith speak of the restorative power of God. Should we have to pay forever for something done as a teen, under the influence, or at a moment of knuckle-headed stupidity? 

We’d like that answer to be “no,” except for this: others will pay, others are paying. What then is our responsibility? Good counsel comes from Alcoholics Anonymous, beginning with step four, the creation of a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Admitting what’s been revealed to at least one other human being, asking [praying] to have those defects of character removed, and making amends to those we’ve hurt form the basis for the next five steps. Half of the twelve steps to sobriety demand this response to our actions: “This is who I am. This is what I’ve done. This is who I’ve hurt. This is what I will do as a result.” 

The laws of government bring punishment. The laws of action and reaction bring natural consequences, happy or not. Might truthfulness of heart and redemptive sorrow extend another way for us to live?