Is the party over for Boris? The man with such promise as a charismatic, no-nonsense leader, has been found wanting.
But what he and so many other leaders of our time have consistently failed to understand is the age-old truth: “You may be sure that your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23).
Truth and lies
It’s not politically correct to talk about sin, I know, but among the chief of sins is giving false testimony. And the great British public will not put up with it for long.
The big issue behind all the emerging scandals involving alleged parties being held at No 10 during lockdown while many were unable to properly mourn their loved ones, is not just the hypocrisy of ‘Do as I say, but not as I do’, but appearing to tell lies to cover it up (or indeed for any reason).
Tragically, it’s become so much a part of our lives that many of us actually think we are speaking the truth when in fact we are telling lies to excuse our behaviour, or to distract attention from other wrongdoing. It has become our ‘native language’ (John 8:44).
There is a sense in which untruths glide off the tongue as smoothly and surely as a writhing snake escaping trouble. It becomes almost as natural as breathing - but it’s deadly.
For truth is the heartbeat of life on earth, which is built on God’s truth.
For truth is the heartbeat of life on earth, which is built on God’s truth. Jesus in fact is the truth, the very epitome of what truth means, as Boris himself has testified. But when it has “fallen on the streets” and can’t be found, as the prophet Isaiah laments (Chapter 59), the nation is in severe trouble.
As Stephen Glover wrote in Wednesday’s Daily Mail, “Boris is an inveterate rule-breaker, in his private life and public dealings”.
Boris’ downfall?
Yes, it goes against the grain for Boris to restrict freedoms, as he so likes to indulge his own. But if you exercise restraint in your private life, it makes it far easier to keep your public persona clean. It would be so helpful if more of our politicians adopted this principle.
But the Prime Minister has tripped himself up in a way that is almost unforgiveable – to the general public, that is, not to God.
Boris' gung-ho approach is greatly appreciated by many, but it will also be his downfall unless he commits himself to total integrity.
I do believe, however, that God still has his hand on Boris. He has already been greatly used in rescuing us from the blight of Europe and then getting the vast majority of us vaccinated. His gung-ho approach is greatly appreciated by many, but it will also be his downfall unless he commits himself to total integrity.
The truth will find us out
Boris isn’t the only culprit in high places. Tennis star Novak Djokovic, too, appears to have been undone, by lying on a form he had filled in (for which imprisonment is a possibility) about where he had been in the fortnight prior to his flight to Australia – though the saga mostly rests on his vaccination status.
But if you exercise restraint in your private life, it makes it far easier to keep your public persona clean.
Isaiah records: “For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us… turning our backs on our God… uttering lies our hearts have conceived. So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey” (Isa 59:12-15).
Boris, and the rest of us, would do well to learn the lesson of how painter L.S. Lowry’s ‘sin’ was found out – long after his death. All was revealed in a recent (January 4th) episode of Fake or Fortune, the intriguing BBC TV programme presented by Fiona Bruce.
It focused on a man whose father had left him three Lowry paintings without any paper trail to authenticate them, leaving them potentially worthless. The son obviously wanted to know whether they were genuine.
It turned out that there was a huge market for fake Lowry paintings, which are very difficult to distinguish from the real thing. So a combination of scientific examination and art world royalty were summoned to help.
Two of the pictures were a good bet, but the other – titled Darby and Joan – was questionable, especially in view of Lowry’s own statement that he never used more than five specific colours. And this particular painting had definitely made ample use of a different colour – namely, zinc white.
We have turned our backs on the Lord as a nation, so it is no surprise that we now find ourselves shrouded in darkness and confusion.
Fiona’s supporting crew subsequently unearthed a film documentary made in 1957 (the year of the painting) of the famed artist working in his studio. And there it was, Darby and Joan – plain as a pikestaff – pinned to the wall right beside him as he worked!
Not only that, but they were able to pause the film and focus on an upside-down box labelled ‘zinc white’! Be sure your sin will find you out. Lowry was telling porkies. Or was it a ‘(zinc) white lie’?!
Walk in the light
No, all lies are sinful. Jesus made it clear that the devil was the “father of lies” (John 8:44), adding: “When he lies, he speaks his native language…” If we wish to walk in the light, we need to listen and obey the King of Glory who came as “the light of the world” (John 8:12).
We have turned our backs on the Lord as a nation, so it is no surprise that we now find ourselves shrouded in darkness and confusion. It’s no use heaping all the blame on Boris. We all need to get right with God, to whom every one of us will one day have to give an account (2 Cor 5:10).
