Jerry Falwell, Jr.took Liberty University from a small Baptist College to a University with 46,000 students and an endowment of close to $2 billion. He showed academia how to do online instruction. He held major sway in politics, particularly in the 2016 presidential election. A powerful and charismatic leader, he sadly fell victim to the Bathsheba Syndrome. Those who rise to leadership positions through hard work and charm. But like King David, they often fall victim to their own missteps and bad judgment. They are so iconic that no one around them feels comfortable issuing a “Whoa, Nelly” once in awhile.
Mr. Falwell stepped down from his position as Liberty’s president after a photo emerged on Instagram of Mr. Falwell and a woman, both with their pants unzipped, and Mr. Falwell with his arm around her. The caption, “More vacation shots. Lots of good friends visited us on the yacht. I promise that’s just black water in my glass.” The post was taken down, and so was Mr. Falwell. He has apologized, and explained that the woman in the photo was his wife’s assistant and is pregnant and could not zip up her pants. Mr. Falwell added that he had on pants that he had not worn in awhile and he also could not zip up his pants. So, the two decided on the fun of posting their unzipped states on social media. In what world is it okay for university presidents post photos in an unzipped state?
Social media exacerbates the Bathsheba Syndrome. When bad judgment is afoot, we now have the new temptation to post. It may be a chicken-and-egg issue. Is it bad judgment, or is it just the desire to have likes and tweets? Either way, this particular incident blows the needle off the gauge for bad judgment. Rev. Franklin Graham defended Mr. Falwell, “All of us in life have done things we’ve regretted.” True enough. But there is a lesson here — let’s not post those moments on social media, especially when you are the president of a religious-based university.
