God's Super Injunction

The whole super-injunction and privacy saga has hit a breaking point. The anonymity afforded by courts to various scandal ridden public figures has proved unsustainable. That which has been whispered in private is being shouted from the rooftops.

It seems that in our internet age the only way to protect your family from embarrassment will be to refrain from doing things that might embarrass them. Kind of simple when you think about it.

However, the problem is that we all have secrets and ‘skeletons in the cupboard’ at various levels – perhaps a youthful indiscretion, a ‘moment of madness’, an unhappy phase of life – that none of us would wish publicised or regard as ‘everyone’s business’. Yet the reality of our age is more & more to deny people such discretion. Every compromising photo posted on Facebook becomes effectively undeletable, as do our hastily expressed opinions or off-the-cuff quips. The Christianity Explored illustration of having all the details of our life put out on public display doesn’t feel quite so theoretical anymore.

But actually even if our private lives were splashed across the Tabloids on a daily basis it still wouldn’t reveal the half of it. All those thoughts, unseen actions and carefully manipulated words would still remain unexposed. And it would be the cumulative weight and mass of all those little sins that would truly shame and condemn us – no ‘moment of madness’ or ‘exceptional circumstances’ will explain away sins committed repeatedly day-in and day-out.

It’s why God’s Super Injunction is not to gag the truth about us – but to gag our excuses for it: so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God (Rom 3:19). The Gospel is a call to stop self-justification, to stop protesting and making excuses for ourselves. It is a reminder of reality – we have not lived as we ought and we cannot cover it up from the one whose opinion ultimately matters. That’s why, Romans reminds us, in God’s court room there will be no arguing – just silence.

Our greatest need is not the suppression of truth but the granting of forgiveness. The former might save our face now – but only the latter can save our souls then. So take the advice of Jesus Himself: ‘Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way...’ (Matt 5:25).