Our retired bishop puts on his hat and decides all those who want to ensure that TMetira Turei (who he is white knighting for) is not held accountable.
Mate, no. Turia is an example. Of what not to do. Your sins, like mine, are not to be boasted about. It is better to talk about Christ.
I broke my fair share of our nation’s laws, particularly, but not exclusively, those relating to the ingestion of alcohol and illicit substances. Even when maintaining legality, I was often in breach of whatever moral code it is that you wish to give a nod to, and yet, glory be to God, these silly, childish behaviours don’t define me. Over the years since then I have found a faith to live by, sorted out many of my inconsistencies and inadequecies, matched myself with a stunning woman, raised children to be proud of, seen the births of beautiful grandchildren, acquired a wall full of fancy certificates, and, all false modesty aside, managed to make a reasonable contribution to the church and to New Zealand society. This process of growth from waste to productivity; from adolescence to adulthood, from liability to asset, from brown stuff for brains stupidity to wisdom, is what we Christians call redemption. It is based on the central principle of our faith: forgiveness. Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!
Actually, try as I may, I’ve never quite managed perfection. In the 40+ years since God took pity on me and saved me from myself, I’ve still managed to do some pretty dumb things. Well, in the last 24 hours, if I’m honest. I’m grateful that redemption isn’t a one off thing, but a continuing process, of which I seem to be in pretty much permanent need.
Which is why I have been particularly ticked off, of late, to witness the self righteous and the forgetful tut tutting over the long past indiscretions of Metiria Turei. It seems that 24 years ago (TWENTY FOUR!) The deputy leader of The Green Party was a solo mother on a benefit. Contrary to the laws of the land she didn’t ‘fess up to the people who paid her benefit that she had some paying boarders in her house, preferring the feeding of her child over the demands of strict honesty and legality. Further it seems she was registered to vote in one electorate while actually living in another (as, I now realise, I was myself during the 3 years I spent at St. John’s Theological College). All these years later she has confessed these misdemeanours and offered to set them straight. So the Pharisees amongst us muster their reserves of ire and gather up the rocks ready for a good old stoning. No matter that in the intervening decades she seems to have well and truly got her act together: getting a degree, working as a lawyer, getting elected to Parliament, rising to leadership in her party and all the while making a pretty decent fist of motherhood. “Forget the effort she has put into her life”, say the self righteous, “forget the good she has done, or the blessing she has been to many people. Forget the honesty and intelligence and integrity and years of hard work. What defines her is a few relatively innocuous indiscretions commited years ago when she was young and poor and desperate.”
For shame.
On reflection, I’d trust my future to someone who committed a few mistakes, learned from them, and has the guts to own up to them over someone so lacking in self knowledge they imagine themselves to be flawless, or who pretends to be so. Any day.
Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the one to whom the Lord will not reckon sin.
– That old reprobate, Paul, again. The Epistle to the Romans, again.
Those self righteous gits? They have been forced to resign. For less. But they had standards. They had godly sorrow. They would repent, and make amends.
To those who is given much, much is required. There is a higher level of probity. Parliament is the highest court in the land, and it has disciplined itself. Cam has listed people from the right who have resigned: the left (under Helen Clarke) has removed MPs for indiscretions. Not infrequently.
The answer is of course nothing.
They all lost their seats in parliament, forced out by the baying hounds of the media and opposition.
What did they do?
Pansy Wong – Nothing, exonerated.
Richard Worth – who knows but I doubt it was a Crimes Act offence like fraud.
Todd Barclay – Nothing except embarrass the PM, certainly no fraud.
David Garrett – Stole a dead baby’s name, no one hurt or suffered a loss.
John Banks – Didn’t put Kim Dotcom down as a donor, but did actually record the donation anyway.
Aaron Gilmore – Got pissed and name dropped himself.
All of them are no longer MPs. None of them even committed a crime and John Banks was acquitted.
Metiria Turei on the other hand has admitted to fraud, which included failing to declare income, and receiving the DPB when it appears she was not entitled to it. On top of that she has committed electoral fraud as well.
She stands there and thinks that is is all OK because she was young once?
Cry me a river of tears.
Should we pray for Turei? Yes. Should we preach her the gospel? Of course. It may be that this crisis drives her to faith. But we should not use her errors or our errors as a means of virtue signalling, to prove that one is a man of God.
It is Christ who knows who his sheep is. I pray that I am not one of the goats.