Malcolm Potts May 10th 2015 ~ Spirit of Truth

Two interesting conversations as we reflect on the Spirit who is truth: I was talking to a chap who was recently accused of behaving inappropriately towards one of his female employees. He was incensed by the accusation and even more so as he came to realise the more he defended himself the guiltier he sounded. His reflection was that behaviour taken out of its context can change from being benign to utterly malignant.His small office of four employees had just won a major contract. On receiving the news, the contract in hand to duplicate, he swept towards the photocopier where the female employee was and batted her on the backside like a tennis shot as he swept by and announced their shared good news. That was it. (His wife, who works in the same office, is equally shocked and hurt. She says she has never witnessed any systemic grooming, flirting or inappropriate shenanigans by her husband - ever! - and she has been the Equal Opportunity Executive for a multinational company previously, so is aware of the issues.) And so began a process that had no winners and plenty of losers.Should he have done it? The answer is unequivocally, “No, he should not.” The real challenge is living in a world where misdemeanours are amplified while horrors are overlooked.This man was angry. He felt he had been an exemplary employer but for this event. He went on to say that this particular employee tended to be the one to become boisterous at work functions. After this awful event, at one such work function the same female employee, in a very happy mood, proceeded to sit on her boss's lap and drape herself around his neck, unsolicited. He was so tempted to call for witnesses and put the boot on the other foot.I know the story above is contentious in light of appalling behaviour from trusted authority figures who have systemically abused power. Where is the mediating Spirit of truth to be found?Last Sunday I was chatting to someone who works at Fiona Stanley Hospital. The commissioning of such a massive enterprise is truly daunting. He was reflecting on why it is that the media set about creating fear and mistrust of our excellent health services. The new hospital has hit performance target after performance target. What do we hear but fearmongering and derision? There have been a few issues but the commissioning processes have sorted these out quickly. There have been some tragedies but hospitals have tragedies every week. Why the amplification and magnification of these tragedies? Why tell half-stories devoid of context that misrepresent the real truth? Why do journalists gleefully report from the lounge rooms of the disgruntled some failing completely devoid of context? What Spirit of truth is there in that? Could it be that the Spirit of truth is not in them (John 14.17)?My Sunday friend said one incident last week was particularly galling. A youth had been saved from drowning by CPR and by excellent expert ER hospital response. As the family stood in front of the TV cameras in front of the hospital giving praise for CPR training and the work of the ER doctors, the TV station saw fit to edit out the family's positive recognition of the work done by Fiona Stanley hospital staff. Spirit of truth snuffed out again for a lie.Paul said to the Romans (1:18): The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness. The confronting fact is there is a preference for lies over truth. Lies are ultimately against God who is true truth.I pray for a hunger for truth in the midst of all the ambiguity of life. That way I will grow to know better what matters most and what really doesn't.Blessings, Malcolm.