I live in Canada and in Canada our current Prime Minister did something years ago that was stupid. At least back then it might have been only stupid but looking back with the modern lens of racism it is now seen as bad. Really bad.

For those who don’t know, he colored his face brown and then black on separate occasions and dressed up like a person of color.  

He champions himself as anti-racism so this was quite the shock for his followers. According to the media this might just have done him in.

Perhaps we will have a new Prime Minister within the month after the election is over.

Good thing I am not running for office! My slogan would have to be I sinned! Get over it!

Remember the fiasco in the United States regarding the past of Brett Kavanaugh during his process of being appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court? His family had to weather a storm like few others have encountered.

Which brings me to victims. What about when a woman claims rape? Times are changing but still her credibility and character are called into question. She is on trial before and at times during the trial of the accused.

When we don’t live in the spotlight, we can hide our lies, mistakes, and omissions. I remember talking to another person who was in trouble. I deserved to be in just as much trouble as him and in the end, he simply concluded that I was better at hiding my sins than he was.

There’s a lot of truth to that.

This week a professional hockey player’s stupidity regarding mooning a female security guard hit the news. His team didn’t know anything about it until they saw it on social media. Apparently, the guy is being charged with a misdemeanor.  Perhaps he thought he could hide what he did that evening.

I get it. We don’t want people to see how stupid we are. The last thing I want is my boss knowing that I did dumb things. Certainly, we don’t want the police to find out what we did and if our wives ever figured out how rotten we were they would never stop slapping us!

The Bible talks about this. No, it does not say that we get away with our sins or that there is free sin without consequences. It does talk about not judging and about forgiving others (Matthew 7: 1-6 and Matthew 18:21-22).

Here’s a scary Bible passage for those of us with hidden things from our past.

“There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.”

Luke 12:2-3

Does this mean that we will all be found out? Well perhaps fear of being found out stops some of us from reaching our potential but I believe this passage is more about eternal consequences. I have many years of counselling experience and I know many secrets that if exposed would destroy many people.

The context of this passage is more about ensuring our secret lives match our public lives. It was Jesus’s saying that the pharisees would do one thing in private and the opposite in public. If we followed this advice, we would never have to fear that our private sins would destroy our public reputation.

I can be thankful that God is much more merciful than the social and professional media of the day. I must warn you though He is also just. No person will be without sin. So, what are we to do?

Canada’s Prime Minister apologized for his youthful actions. Others, like former president Bill Clinton, denied any wrong doing, and others, like Brett Kavanaugh, have attacked their accusers.  None of these strategies make the issues go away though.

When I stand before the eternal judge and my sins are brought up the only thing, I can do is say that all these have been forgiven by Jesus. In the end, it is my relationship with Jesus that is the only way to be truly forgiven.

And I am happy that Jesus is more powerful than the media!

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Andy Becker is lead of Lighthouse Ministries which brings God’s love and presence to the North Central area of Regina, Canada. He is also a writer, public speaker, former counselor, and former Executive Director of a Hospice.

His book, The Travelers, is a fictional account of spiritual warfare and the roles angels and demons play in our everyday lives. It is available at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca