Godly people - or just good actors?

There is nothing concealed that will not be exposed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner room will be proclaimed from the roofs.  Luke 12:2-3

God says... “What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips? You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you.” Psalm 50:16-17

So... another celebrity gets exposed for the failings of his personal life. His attempt to keep things hushed up by means of a "super-injunction" fails. The whole world now knows what he has been up to.

I don't know what you think about revelations like these, mainly to do with film stars, footballers and politicians. You may agree with me that the whole business is tawdry and squalid, just plain tacky. Wherever you look there is fault. The celebrities who behave badly are at fault. The people who take delight in exposing them are at fault. And the millions of us who grub around to gloat over these revelations are at fault. Hopefully anyone who claims to be a Christian resists the temptation to wallow around in this stuff.

But the fact is that in this world of ubiquitous social media, secrecy has become virtually impossible to guarantee. There is an old saying, "Truth will out", and never has it been more obviously true.

The sort of events I’ve referred to bring to mind these words of Jesus: “What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner room will be proclaimed from the roofs.” He makes it clear that nothing can be hidden from the eye - or the ear - of God.

Why did Jesus choose to offer this sobering warning? Was it just to put the frighteners on us all, so to speak? (I have to admit that I for one don't relish the thought of all my many failings and sins being exposed to the whole world.) Is that really the kind of God God is?

Well, we need to notice the context in which Jesus is speaking. He is talking about hypocrisy: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees...” he says in verse 1: and then adds “... which is hypocrisy”.

What is hypocrisy? The dictionary talks about acting, playing a part, pretending: "The assuming of a false appearance of virtue or goodness... especially in respect of religious life or belief..." The sort of thing we get an extreme example of in the quote from Psalm 50. Jesus' immediate target was the Pharisees, who seem to have specialised in outward displays of religious zeal.

Now that really is rather frightening, for it suggests that religious people are especially prone to hypocrisy. Hands up if you have never been guilty of pretence?

The strange thing about hypocrisy is that we hate and despise it when we see it in others, but we excuse it when we see it in ourselves. Why? Because, of course, we don't see it in ourselves - we think we could never be guilty of it. Oh no, not me!

But we'd better be careful. Sometimes we are so used to playing the part - wearing the mask - that we’re no longer aware we are doing so. The fact is that nobody ultimately "gets away with" anything. There is to be a final judgment before the throne of God, when not just the celebrities exposed in the papers, but every single one of us will be stripped bare, so to speak, before the holy eye of God. Sin and hypocrisy matter - and there is no carpet so vast that we can brush everything under it. God knows all things, and he is too holy too turn a blind eye.

What should a celebrity caught out in this shameful way do?

The answer is simple - make a clean breast of it. What's the point of carrying on the pretence when the whole world knows the truth?

And exactly the same thing applies to us and to our sins. Come clean with God!

It's what the Bible calls "repentance" - and the good news is that he promises to forgive our every sin, large or small. If we come clean with God, God makes us clean and pure through what Jesus did on the cross. In the graphic and beautiful words of the prophet: "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..." (Isaiah 1).

That’s a promise - a promise from God himself. Is it a promise you need to grab hold of today?

Dear Father in heaven, please help me to take seriously the horrible reality of sin. I know that this alone can separate me from you. Thank you that Jesus shed his blood on the cross to deal with the sins of the whole world. Help me to live in the light of his grace and love, so that when I stand before you on the judgment day I will have nothing to fear. Amen.