Too Common by Half

Just before the recent Eurovision Song Contest, a radio presenter spoke of “the unthinkable having become commonplace”.  He referred to the transformation of the former Soviet republics, in that they now exhibit a feverish enthusiasm to take part in something that once would have been deplored in their culture.

Those words can be lifted from their context and re-applied in precisely the opposite direction.  How much of what is around us ought to be deplored instead of being welcomed with enthusiasm?  Such deplorable facets of society include so-called ‘reality’ TV programmes that stop little short of pornography.  Profanity or blasphemy (or both) are heard all too often on our streets.  Self-discipline and respect for those in authority – and indeed behaviour by such people that is deserving of respect – have plummeted to such a depth that successive governments have seen fit from time to time to mount positive campaigns to attempt their revival.  And that’s before we even consider the field of professional sport, and the recent Respect campaign that has been seen on our football fields.

Jesus took the Pharisees to task about their hypocrisy: “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions,” (Mk 7:9, NIV).  He gave a list of unworthy priorities and bad character traits (vv. 21-22) that identify man’s lower nature.  It’s the work of only a few moments to check these off against the values and lifestyles of people we know.  Even more worrying is the way that, if we dare, we can find some of them in our own behaviour!

 

Join me, if you will, in a ‘Summer Resolution’ to root these out and destroy them, and to encourage those close to us to do the same … with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Shoving Annie - the Postscript

The company of bell-ringers in my home town have a long-standing practice of going away for a weekend in the spring, to visit and ring the bells at churches in a selected area and enjoy each other’s company in a comfortable hotel.  Sometimes the support for this expedition is greater than at others.  This year we struggled to make the minimum requirements for the group rate at the hotel; we needed just one more to qualify.  I think it was the husband of Dianne, our social secretary, who pointed out that the cheapest strategy to overcome the problem would be to double-up one of the single bookings and share the small addition to the overall cost.  This we did, and thus had an ‘empty bed’.

Two weeks before the event, at our regular practice evening, an informal draw was made to see who should occupy the double room instead of a single: a draw which I was lucky enough to win.  The next day, Dianne had to submit the rooming list to the hotel; she texted me as I was driving to ask what name I would prefer for my 'room-mate'. As I wondered about this, the situation became more real and I considered the possible problem of explaining this person's absence.  I replied, ‘call my wife Hilary – I can easily say she couldn’t make it’.

At that time the text for the blog here called 'Shoving Annie' was already almost complete; that same evening, having been ‘married on the motorway’, as it were, I opened the file to review what I’d written.  As you will see, that blog attacked people who are playing a part, trying to appear something they're not... involved in essence, in deception.  As I read through it again, it hit me that what I had engaged in here, however harmless it might have been, was ... in essence, deception.

I felt a bit like King David confronted by Nathan, post-Bathsheba. I'm sure you’re familiar with the story, but if not you'll find it in II Samuel ch. 12. David got annoyed with the man Nathan told him about; then Nathan pointed out that he had, in effect, condemned himself over his treatment of Uriah.  My draft article now condemned me.

In my subsequent prayers I asked for wisdom concerning what I should do or say. First, how was I to explain the absence of the wife I'd created to occupy the half-empty double room – a challenge that, in the event, was never posed – then, how should I deal with the spiritual situation in which I now found myself?  I decided that to honour my forgiving Lord, I must use this incident as a basis for teaching.  Phase one was a leaflet that I hastily prepared, and handed to all my colleagues at the start of the weekend containing, basically, what you are reading here; this is phase two.

The lesson I’ve learned here is straightforward. We should all be aware just how easy it can be to drift into sin.