THE FATE OF TRUTH-TELLERS IN A CULTURE OF DECEIT

Our first reading from the Book of Wisdom contains pretty much a job description of what a prophet does and how people react to them.

“Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, He judges us debased; he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure”

When I read these words, I thought of the prophet John the Baptizer. John has to be one of the hardest persons in the whole Bible to warm up to! He is the kind of man you would respond to by grabbing the kids and pulling them close if you ran into him on the streets. The smell coming from him alone would probably gag a horse! He made his home in caves out in the desert wilderness. He wore a disgusting camel hide and ate locusts, wild honey and probably anything else he could find crawling on the sand.

This hairy, bellowing preacher-man did not mince words. He tore into religious leaders, calling them “nests of poisonous snakes.” He did not stop there. John took on the political establishment as well. On one occasion, he got up in King Herod’s face and publicly confronted him with the fact that he was committing adultery with his brother’s wife. For that, Herod had John’s head cut off and served up on a platter.

John was a “prophet” and this kind of radical truth telling is what “prophets” do. Prophets are not so much people who predict the future, as they are people who rub the truth of the present in our faces and make us look at it.

We might call such people today “whistle blowers,” people who drag the truth out into the light of day and make us look at it, whether it is convenient to look or not! Like prophets of old, “whistle blowers” are often considered “nut cases” at first. Like prophets of old, “whistle blowers” often get themselves killed, either actually or figuratively because most establishments do not like to have their boats rocked or their truths to come out. Instead of heeding the message, they usually turn on the messenger.

“Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training, to us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, He judges us debased; he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure”

If you have ever been involved in exposing one of these inconvenient truths, you know just how dangerous it can be. If you are not physically hurt, you can be labeled or blackballed for years and maybe for life.

We still kill our prophets in a host of creative ways. We shun friends who will not go along with us when we do wrong.  We ridicule the teaching of the Church when it won’t bless the wrongs we want to do or we disparage Popes we don’t agree with.  Prophets confront us when we do that and so they are hated.   

All of us have a built-in “prophet” as well. Our built-in “prophet” is called a “conscience.” Our consciences are constantly confronting us with truths that we would just as soon not look at. We can numb them temporarily with alcohol or and even kill them for good with regular and consistent violations. Maybe the message of a prophet, either inside or outside us, can be summarized best and most simply by Marcus Aurelius who said, “If it is not right, do not do it. If it is not true, do not say it.”  Charles Marshall put it this way, “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is looking!” Isaiah the Prophet put it this way, "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." 

Let me remind you, fellow follows of Jesus, being a person of integrity, being a person who always does the right thing, being a person who always tells the truth will attract admiration from some, but you will be punished by people who take the path going in the other direction, by people who will be threatened by your solid integrity and unflinching principle!  As we say, “No good deed goes unpunished!” That goes for good people as well! “No truly good person will go unpunished.”

Persons of integrity and principal are like mirrors held up for those who aren’t – the slick, the slimy and the shady.  The very presence of persons of integrity and principal expose those who aren’t those things for what they are! As our first reading puts it,

“They set themselves against our doings, reproaches us for our transgressions and charges us with violations of our training. They are obnoxious to us. They censure our thoughts and merely to see them is a hardship for us. They judge us debased; they hold aloof from our paths as from things impure”

Those who won’t join you in your search for excellence and integrity will not admire you, encourage you or even respect you. They will attack you!  Because it will be easier for them to pull you down than pull themselves up, they will come after you and try to undermine you! Do it anyway! Take the high road! Be an example for others! Feel good about yourself! Live respected by most, even when you are attacked by a few! In a world infested with meanness, dishonesty and cruelty, choose to be different!

A little green and black book, by the name of Virtuous Leadership: An Agenda for Personal Excellence, has had a tremendous effect on my life. It is a spiritual book from the professional business world - believe it or not! The writer, Alexandre Havard, lists six virtues of a person of integrity and principle: prudence, courage, self-control, justice, magnanimity and humility. These are the things really worth pursuing! These are the things the world needs more of! These are the standards, by which we will be judged when we stand before God holding our very lives in our hands! The only question is, how proud or how embarrassed will we be, with what we did with ourselves! I believe it is ultimately a matter of choosing courage over cowardice over a lifetime!