Tuesday, April 2, 2024

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READ: Proverbs 18

It is not good to show partiality to the guilty, denying an innocent person justice. Proverbs 18:5 (CSB)

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We had a substitute teacher in grade 5 that no one liked.

No. One.

I can’t remember her name. I’m pretty sure it was one of those Ukrainian ones that little kids have trouble pronouncing so we just called her Mrs. C. or something like that. I can conjure a fuzzy picture of her in my mind – perfectly permed hair that sat like fake-dyed brown rose buds on her head, showing a bit too much forehead. She wore granny make-up that was tasteful but a bit too much for an elementary school sub. And I’m pretty sure this is wrong, but I think she wore those chunky-heeled shoes. As a proper Ukrainian Baba would.

Mrs. C. (not her real name… I still can’t remember it), was an authoritarian. But being a tough love, scare them straight, classroom fascist wasn’t the reason we disliked her. The reason we did is that for some reason she routinely gave Leonard gifts.

Leonard was the tough kid in the class. He was disobedient and rebellious. The kind of kid that teachers would discuss between puffs on their cigarettes in the staff room. (I’m kidding. Already by the 1980s smoking was frowned upon in staff rooms. My teachers smoked outside.)

When I was in grade 3 I was awarded the first-ever Parc La Salle Citizenship award. Later Mrs. Riach told me it was because I had been a friend to Leonard. Being friends with tough kids back then was rewarded.

But bad behaviour wasn’t. Or at least it shouldn’t have been.

And yet, Mrs. C. brought Leonard candy. I think she was trying to bribe him into obedience. I’m not an expert but usually hits of sugar aren’t the best way to elicit character change. Actually, I am an expert and I know this is rarely a successful strategy. Nevertheless, Mrs. C. tried to reform Len with candy, and although I have no idea if Len outgrew his delinquency, I do know my grade 5 classmates and I were sorely offended by her favouritism.

It isn’t uncommon for adults to “take a shining” to a kid from a hard place. Heck, we’ve filled our house with them over the years. I have no doubt now, looking back, that Mrs. C. had good intentions. I don’t even know that I remember the situation correctly, I certainly wasn’t privy to the discussions about Len’s troubled ways.

Misguided intentions aside, this kind of thing has a shelf life. There comes a point when grown-ups need to stop rewarding bad behaviour. I’m not talking about working with people who struggle with addiction or those who turn to crime out of desperation or necessity. I’m talking about church leaders.

Yes. Church leaders. Call me naïve but I’m still stunned when I hear about another “giant of the faith” that crashes and burns in the swirling chaos of scandal. Bill Hybels, Ravi Zacharias, and now Mike Bickle were all influential in my life as a Christian and a leader. And while I know we are all human and prone to sin, and while I know there is redemption and forgiveness of sins, I’m still very comfortable calling sin what it is. What baffles me is the adults who give candy to these deviants.

When bad behaviour isn’t called out, or worse, when it is minimized, legitimized, excused and worst of all, spiritualized, we dishonour the victims and do violence to God’s love and justice. It isn’t good enough to say, “Well God will be the judge” and then make some pathetic reference to David being a “man after God’s own heart” who made mistakes.

I know that we live in extremes where on the one hand people act like victims far too easily and far too often, but we can’t allow that extreme to invalidate the pain of genuine victims.

Several years ago, a friend told me his church had a policy that if a volunteer in a position of influence at church went through a divorce, they would be asked to step back from influential service until a period had elapsed – even if the divorce was biblically justified. This is wisdom, it communicates that divorce is serious and that healing is necessary for everyone involved.

Except the policy wasn’t extended to everyone equally. Certain people in the highest levels of leadership weren’t held to account for shady business dealings that were widely rumoured – and ultimately proven true.

Look, I am all about redemption. I think there is hope for everyone. And I’m pretty biased towards extending grace. But when Christian leaders use their position to skirt responsibility and consequences, quite frankly I lose my mind.

The Bible is rife with examples of lousy leaders, some who accepted responsibility and many who didn’t. These leaders hurt people – innocent people. And God’s heart is for the underdog which doesn’t bode well for their onboarding interview to heaven. But I don’t think God wants us to just defer to Him until then. I think we are called to hold people to account for their actions. And for God’s sake, stop excusing and re-instating leaders who have not reformed and healed.