For a few days this week citizens of South Carolina wondered where their governor was. Mark Sanford was nowhere to be seen on Sunday, June 21, Father's Day in America, and no one seemed to know his whereabouts. Some said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail in the eastern United States. Most of his closest staff did not know his location.

Then on Wednesday, he suddenly reappeared and revealed the mystery. Governor Sanford had been in Argentina visiting a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair. In a news conference in the lobby of the South Carolina State House, the governor gave a rambling and bizarre explanation for his behavior. "What I did was wrong. Period. End of story... About a year ago it sparked into something more than that. I have seen her three times since then, during that whole sparking thing... And so oddly enough, I spent the last five days of my life crying in Argentina...the odyssey that we're all on in life is with regard to heart."

Sanford, considered by some as a presidential contender, had made a reputation based on moral integrity and virtue. As a member in Congress in 1994, he voted to impeach President Bill Clinton after the problems of the president's affair with a female intern led to political turmoil. Sanford was critical of other national leaders with moral flaws and was quoted as saying, "We as a party [Republican] want to hold ourselves to high standards, period." Sanford's wife, Jenny, knew of his affair. The couple have a family of four boys.

This is just another in the long line of revelations of moral failures by leading national politicians in the United States. A little more than a year ago New York Governor Eliot Spitzer admitted liaisons with a prostitute and had to resign his office. Whether Sanford resigns as governor is yet to be seen; he has already resigned as chairman of the Republican Governors Association. But it is clear he is crippled politically and likely has no future on the national stage.

It is easy to moralize about such behavior. It is not that this is an uncommon feature of life. People from all walks of life decide to "burn down their house" with such affairs. It is the stuff of movies, television shows, books and, as we see so often, real life. It just makes bigger headlines when a national politician does it. It is especially ironic when done by one who makes an issue of high moral standards for leaders.

What will happen to Mark Sanford? I don't know. He is a smart man, independently wealthy and someone who seems to always land on his feet. He will make a new life for himself and go on. Whether his marriage survives this is up in the air. I wonder and worry about the long-term impact on his sons. A picture of his sons in today's newspaper shows they are all young enough to be deeply impacted by the confusion swirling around their parents in this devastating crisis. How will they rebuild trust? What will be the toll on their character, their confidence and their outlook on life and people as they go forward? I wish them well and hope some adult in their life will step up and provide a strong pillar of support at this critical moment.

Much can be said about these situations. Politicians, clergy, teachers—people from all walks of life are regularly exposed as hypocrites for their moral lapses. We cringe, cry and scream outrage when we hear the newest revelations, then go on with our lives and harbor our own secret sins—strangely hoping they are never exposed to the light of day.

It would be easy for me to quote several passages of Scripture to connect to this latest episode of a leader with feet of clay. But I will refrain from doing so. Instead my thought this morning goes to a verse that warns every one of us of how close we could be to the same if we are not vigilant and careful of our personal thoughts and behavior. The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12).

Good advice for us all.