Sean O’Malley is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) champion, originally from Montana. He recently knocked off Aljamain Sterling to win the bantamweight MMA title in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) – the premier MMA league.
Before the fight, he appeared on a show called “Raw Talk,” ostensibly to talk about the coming battle. But for whatever reason (a reason I sure don’t understand) he began talking about his relationship with his wife, Danya. In that conversation, he went into an explanation about their open marriage and why it is okay for him to have flings with other women.
Even as I read about it, I have to shake my head. He made the comment that having sex with other women would not be fair if he wasn’t as successful as he is. Why that has anything to do with it is beyond me, but that is his reasoning.
Quoting him:
“I’m a king. I pay for everything. I treat Danya like a queen. If I get a little p____ on the side, what does that have to do with anything? I have testosterone running through my veins.”
He went on to say:
“If I wasn’t paying for everything, if I wasn’t, you know, successful in any sort of way, and I was just like maybe an average Joe, I probably wouldn’t … it probably wouldn’t be fair. But I’m f_____ King Kong, baby. … You know, I got status, so I can.”
And at an earlier time when asked if it would be okay for Danya to have other lovers, he said that if she wanted to do the same thing, he would have to deal with it, and that wouldn’t be easy.
After reading O’Malley’s comments, it is hard to know where to even begin. His thinking is wrong on so many levels.
At the most shallow end of the spectrum, he actually doesn’t see anything wrong with being unfaithful to his wife. He obviously has a sense that it is not right by acknowledging that if he was less successful he wouldn’t have a right to do it. Again, what that has to do with anything is beyond me, but that’s his mindset.
Another point is that he, at some level, thinks it is okay for his wife to be unfaithful to him, as well. He notes that he wouldn’t like it particularly, but he obviously doesn’t see it as something wrong.
Getting deeper into his mindset, he justifies being unfaithful based on his money and his status. He believes because he brings in a good income and has become a champion, that makes it okay to get a little luvin on the side. Again, I have no idea where that notion came from, but it is what he believes.
I have no specific or official information about what his worldview platform looks like. It would certainly be interesting to discuss that with him to find out. But here is what I can deduce from his words. While I don’t know what religion he claims, I can say for certain that based on his stated point of view, he has bought into naturalistic beliefs. While he obviously senses that something is not right about it (as the Holy Spirit informs his spirit), he has made a conscious decision to live a life where he defines sexual morality for himself. That kind of relativistic belief is straight out of Naturalism (the belief that the natural universe, operating by natural laws, is all that exists). Even if he doesn’t self-identify as a Naturalist, he is a functional Naturalist.
One of the interesting things about worldview beliefs is that, for most people, beliefs at that level are pretty much unconscious. If you were to ask O’Malley specifically why he thinks cheating on his wife is okay, he would probably have a hard time justifying it. That’s why you get the kind of shallow answer he gave (“I’m a king. I pay for everything. I treat Danya like a queen. If I get a little p____ on the side, what does that have to do with anything? I have testosterone running through my veins.”). He doesn’t base his moral thinking on any kind of objective foundation (like the teachings of the Bible), but on his own personal preferences. That kind of relativistic moral thinking comes straight out of a naturalistic worldview.
So where do you think he got that kind of belief? Well, naturalistic philosophy is pretty much the default belief that dominates modern society. If he was not raised in church, he may not even know what God has revealed about sexual morality. He certainly didn’t get any teaching about God in school. He also didn’t get it from the TV and movies he grew up watching – or from observing most politicians and business people. All of those institutions are dominated by naturalistic philosophy. People in modern society pick up that belief pretty much by osmosis from just living life.
The only way O’Malley, and millions of other people in America like him, are going to come to the truth is if Christians start becoming more faithful to share it. That needs to be our recommitment to God.