So much has been said and written over the last few weeks about the media tribunal which the government is proposing in South Africa. The fear is that press freedom is being restricted, and that those in power are trying to avoid the usual scrutiny that journalists impose on their leaders. On the other hand, the powers-that-be are arguing that journalists get a free pass to say what they like, and that people who are criticised or exposed in the media have little or no recourse when what is written damages their lives. Fair enough - there’s a point to be made on both sides of this debate, and, of course, there’s the question of who should control such a tribunal should it come to be. These are questions that our politicians will wrestle with, and that all South Africans should have an opinion on - but they are not the reason for my writing of this article.
I believe there is a bigger question that is raised by this story, and it’s the question of how we deal with the truth, especially when it confronts us with things we would rather not acknowledge about ourselves. The reality is that we human beings don’t much like facing the truth about ourselves. We have elaborate avoidance techniques that we use to sustain our fantasies about our (considerable, we think) strengths and our (non-existent, we think) weaknesses. We have brilliant justifications for our foibles or failures, and, if things get really uncomfortable, we always have the back-up of blaming, scapegoating or attacking those who reveal what we would rather not see. Perhaps this is why the prophet Jeremiah wrote, “the human heart is the most deceitful of all things...” (Jeremiah 17:9)
Those in power, especially, tend to prefer to hide the truths that might call their leadership into question, and are often prepared to use extreme measures to silence their detractors. Herod, when confronted by John the Baptist’s accusations, simply had him arrested and ultimately beheaded (Matthew 14:1-12). The Pharisees, faced with Jesus’ truth-telling and his challenging words and actions, called on the power of Rome to help them get rid of him - and so he was crucified under Pilate’s watch (John 19:4-16). The same scene has been replayed again and again throughout history on both public and private stages.
In the face of all this truth avoidance, the Gospel challenges us to embrace a different way - the way of truth-telling, of acknowledging the truth about ourselves, and of seeking to bring the truth - however ugly or shameful it may be - into the light. Paul demonstrates this commitment to truth in Galatians 2:11-16 when he confronts Peter publicly for hypocrisy. John calls us all to live in this open and honest way when he writes that “if we claim we have no sin we are only fooling ourselves...But if we confess our sins to [God], [God] is faithful and just to forgive us...” (1 John 1:8,9).
It is because of this commitment to truth that we include acts of confession in our worship. We need to be faced with the truth about ourselves, and we need a community of loving people who will be brave enough to confront us. Without these things, we remain blind to our own destructiveness, and we are never able to become Christ-like. The act of confession in worship is a powerful discipline which, when done thoughtfully and thoroughly, brings us face to face with ourselves and opens the door to transformation.
Imagine what a world would be like where, instead of trying to avoid the truth about ourselves, we regularly faced the truth and allowed it to set us free? I could live in a world like that - and so far as I am able, I intend to try.
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John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the author of the book Food for the Road – Life Lesson from the Lord’s Table. He holds a Master’s Degree in theology from UNISA, and is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is married to Debbie, and they have two sons.
Visit www.sacredise.com for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts.