Leaks and Revelations

‘Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops.’ Luke 12:3

We live in an era of leaks and revelations. It sometimes seems that nothing any longer is ever private for long, and secrets exist only in order to be revealed. Politicians, sports personalities, show-biz stars, even church leaders – all have fallen foul of the all-seeing eye and all-hearing senses of the media. Our society seems to have lost the will to allow any area of life to remain private. ‘Secret’ has become a dirty word.

The striking words of Jesus in this verse may well be seen as a prophetic warning to this mediasaturated age. If nothing is private, if no idle word is safe from prying recorders or hidden bugs, then our only recourse is to live lives of transparent honesty. Words spoken ‘in the dark’ will be rehearsed in the light and whispered comments behind closed doors will appear on the front page of the Mirror. If such revelation is inevitable, then dark words and whispered opinions are out and openness is in.

Of course, Jesus was not referring directly to our present obsession with leaks and revelations. He had in mind, I’m sure, a greater truth: that everything lies open before our Creator – every idle word, every secret thought, every malicious opinion. For most of us, media intrusions and public exposure are not the problem, but we are all aware of the damage and pain caused every day by whispers, innuendos and secret resentments.

Followers of Christ are called to live transparent lives – to ‘walk in the light’, in St John’s phrase. We are also to work and pray for a society that is open and honest. We cannot hide anything from God. The difficult lesson to learn is that in the last analysis we can’t hide it from anybody else either.

Canon David Winter is a former Diocesan Director of Evangelism, a broadcaster and author of many books