c. 1998 Religion News Service

(Samuel K. Atchison is an ordained minister and has worked as a policy analyst and social worker to the homeless. He currently is a prison chaplain in Trenton, N.J., and a fellow of the Gallup International Institute.)

UNDATED _ The stunning allegations of sexual impropriety on the part of President Clinton have left the nation shaking its collective head in amazement.

Are they true, we ask? Did Clinton play David to Monica Lewinsky’s Bathsheba, getting to”know”her in the biblical sense? Was Vernon Jordan the president’s point man in a vain attempt to cover the matter up? And what of Kenneth Starr, the erstwhile Whitewater prosecutor whose investigation has gone far afield: Will he succeed in bringing the Clinton administration down?

These and other questions trouble our minds and titillate our imaginations. But lest we get carried away in our musings, let me propose a moment of sober reflection. For regardless of the outcome of these proceedings, their very nature reflect our national character.

To put it simply, we are reaping what we have sown.

Look at the facts. The most widely quoted statistics indicate that more than 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce. The reason for divorce cited most often is adultery. Indeed, there is a plethora of data indicating that unfaithfulness must be overcome even in marriages that remain intact.

In my own experience as a pastoral counselor, failure on the part of one or both spouses to”forsake all others”consistently emerges as a major factor in marital discord.

Is it any wonder that our chief executive _ elected from our ranks and (presumably) reflecting our values _ seems perpetually enmeshed in what has become our problem?

And do not his actions _ denying the allegations, projecting an image of business-as-usual _ appear calibrated to take political advantage of our national ambivalence? After all, the polls indicate that while more than 90 percent of us believe adultery is wrong, fewer than half feel it is relevant to presidential performance.

Moreover, according to a recent Gallup survey, most Americans are not concerned with whether Clinton had sex with Monica Lewinsky, only with whether he lied about it or sought to cover it up.

So why shouldn’t he hunker down and appear”presidential?”Regardless of his guilt or innocence, if he can control the story’s spin and use the power of the Oval Office to prevent further leaks, he has nothing to lose and we are well served in the process.

Or are we?”Righteousness exalts a nation,”says the biblical book of Proverbs.”But sin is a disgrace to any people.””Righteousness,”as it is used here, speaks of justice. Thus, Scripture contrasts justice _ which ennobles people _ with sin, which dishonors them.

Let’s be honest: When news of the alleged Clinton-Lewinsky affair broke, was the president exalted or disgraced? As he held talks, attempting to negotiate peace between Israel and the PLO, was his moral position as a world leader enhanced or diminished?

What of the citizenry? Can we honestly say we weren’t embarrassed? Did not thoughts like”here we go again”go through our minds? And weren’t many of us reminded of skeletons in our own closets?

In short, our behavior _ and that alleged against our president _ does not ennoble us. It dishonors us.

How, then, can we say that character does not matter?

MJP END ATCHISON