Have you ever tried to cover up - to shift the blame, to wriggle your way out - when someone discovers you’ve done something wrong? Well, if you were ever a five year old then the answer to that question is YES! We all have.
But, as we grow up, we discover that it’s always better in the end to own up to our mistakes and take the rap. Cover ups have a tendency to lead to more and more deception and, when they are exposed, cause us more shame and embarrassment than the original misdemeanour or failure in judgement.
In the Bible Jesus says, ‘Nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.’
So true. But then why do so many grown men and women – especially those in high office and the public eye – continue to fall into the cover up trap?
This week, in the Dominic Cummings debacle, we’ve seen otherwise good and honourable people entangle themselves in a web of half-truths and outright lies in order to evade embarrassment about a questionable judgement call. The result is now a huge loss of trust and potential danger to public health if government guidelines in relation to Covid 19 are no longer so strictly adhered to.
When will we ever learn?
There were cover ups in Jesus’s day. And there are many more to come.
The Christian hope, however - as envisaged in the last book of the Bible - is that finally a day will come when we live in a city full of light, where there is no darkness. No space for deception to cower unseen.
In the meantime, in the midst of this whole shabby affair, we lament and pray for greater courage and integrity for our leaders. And ourselves in the future.