Sorry or Caught?

I have tried to follow some of the Commons Select Committee questioning of Murdoch father and son, regarding the ongoing phone hacking investigation into the 'News of the World' reporters and private investigators. Ok, so I am a sad person, but I was interested to see the Murdochs in action under questioning.

I hadn't thought it possible, but I actually started to feel sorry for the ageing tycoon. He was not as sharp as I had imagined, and didn't come across as the fearsome individual he has been portrayed as. In fact, the committee came across as a group who were happy to tear them apart, and relied on the stumbling age of the elderly man under investigation. They sensed blood, and went for the jugular. As far as I could see, they didn't uncover anything new. All they did was allow the guilty pair to say 'sorry' again. Maybe the committee will feel better now that they have 'given them a kicking', but not done anything else constructive. I saw them being questioned as if they were guilty of genocide in the European Court of The Hague.

We should be very aware of these tactics. The same kind of courtroom antics were used 2,000 years ago when Jesus was tried before his crucifixion, by a group of select leaders, albeit church leaders. Very few people gave Jesus any chance to prove his innocence, and yet he was very innocent.

When I pull myself back, and look at the situation, I am not sure if the Murdochs are sorry for their illegal actions, or sorry they were caught. There is a great big difference, and it is the difference between regret and repentance. Oh I know that's a very old word, but if you think about the deeper meaning, it determines how they will behave in future. Will they go back to their old ways after the heat has died down, or will they change their ways. That would also be seen as a change of heart. Maybe, just maybe, this very rich old man is now getting the chance to see what his ruthlessness in earlier business life has caused, and maybe just maybe he is truly sorry. If there is any remnant of goodness left from his family upbringing, and he is aware of the concept of a heavenly reward, and a deserving hell, he may now be reviewing his life through different eyes.

This all comes back to the question of 'who is our judge?' I would suggest it is not the Commons Select Committee, or any Judge Led Inquiry, but an Almighty God who sits above all other earthy judges. I don't know about you, but I am increasingly grateful that my eternal future is in His hands, and none other.