Deserved Judgement

It is clear that the behaviour of Jimmy Saville as he occupied his earthy body was wholly wrong. As a Christian I know that God’s mercy does run out for sinners and that at that time the sinner will face his justice or his wrath, either in this life or the next. Since God is good it seems strange that he does not intervene directly more often, hinting at a peculiar sense of timing. Is there something that we don’t understand, or is it something more subtle? Can any explanation of why a God of love would allow the injustice of abuse to happen ever help us?

It has occurred to me during my life and particularly in my walk with God, that my free will is my weightiest stewardship. I become, more often than not, the result of my choices. When a wicked man dies his hope perishes, his name rots and often the people rejoice. But God doesn’t want the wicked man to die, does he? Ezekiel tells us clearly that God would rather have the wicked man turn from his sin and live. In my experience I have been able to turn from a life which was less than satisfactory to me, to my family, and to society in general and I am very grateful that I have been given the opportunity to exercise my will in this way.

Ezekiel also clearly shows us that we needn’t follow the example of sinners above us, even in our families. If a son sees his father sinning and decides not to sin in the same way, then the son will not die for his father’s sins but will live. But what if the effect of abuse is what causes the child to sin in the first place? One of the most troubling examples I’ve heard is of a child (8yrs) having been chained naked to a post in the back garden by his father for breaking a household item, while his mother and sister looked on from the living room, too scared to help. The child was/is serving a jail sentence for rape. There are many, many more such examples.

Thinking about the solutions to problems like this is a difficult thing. I look in the bible for answers and even there the answers are painful and personally costly. To walk in love would seem to be the best solution statement, but what does that look like? Certainly, to oppose evil is seen as good but do we really know the best way to do this? In cases like the one directly above, I’m persuaded that someone has been labelled as evil when he isn’t, necessarily, and this must surely be happening all the time. Similarly, people knew what Jimmy Saville was doing and yet did nothing. Does this hint at a deeper responsibility for all of us?

As adults we must decide to live with probity and we must also insist that those we come close to do the same. It seems to me that in the Jimmy Saville case there were many opportunities for adults to blow the whistle on this man’s behaviour but for one reason or another this was not done. It is now too late. Whatever is happening now to the soul of Jimmy Saville in no way palliates the effects of the abuse that he caused whilst he was alive. Socially responsible adults could well have changed at least some of this deep injustice.

I am reminded that in ancient times, as well as today, society is led to worship the most awful things. These dark gods occupy the crossroads between the temporal and the eternal, ever tempting us to choose the quick and easy way and it is not obvious immediately what is happening. Seemingly good people turn out to be base and evil acts seem to have some horrifying causes of their own. We are called to be watchful and we certainly must be, since our enemy is a roaring lion, prowling about, seeking someone to destroy (as in 1 Peter 5:8); or more mythologically, “Hecate of hell, Mighty to shatter every stubborn thing, Hark! Hark! her hounds are baying through the town. Where three roads meet, there she is standing.”

Our freewill gives us a choice to choose right. Look down and you’ll see that you are standing either on the cross or over the abyss. Find out where you stand and determine to ensure that you do what you are being asked to do so that social justice is truly justice.