Why covering up abuse doesn’t bring glory to Jesus

Why do Churches cover up abuse?

One of the most common justifications given for covering up sexual abuse that takes place in the church is that it protects the reputation of the church. At face value this might sound like a convincing argument, after all Christians ought to want to make the teaching about God our saviour attractive (Titus 2:10) . But when we linger on the reasoning and implications a little longer in the context of abuse, the whole argument falls short.

Any Christian that wants to take the gospel seriously must always ask the question: “does this bring glory to Jesus?”. The church, which is a body of Christians, should be no different. The church was established by Jesus, He is the head of the church and He has a purpose for the Church.

The Church is made up of sinners who Christ has died for – not for them to remain in their sin, but for them to be sanctified, to become more like Jesus and live lives set apart for Him. This is the goal of the church – to bring glory to Jesus. The Church then, in all it does, must ask this question first: does this bring glory to Jesus?

So how can the Church glorify Jesus in relation to dealing with abuse?

Reflecting the good shepherd rather than bad shepherds (John 10:11-13, Ezekiel 34)

In Ezekiel 34, the leaders of the community of God’s people are rebuked, not only for failing to care for the sheep (God’s people) as God had appointed them to do, but for harming the sheep. They tended only to their own needs, leaving the sheep to hunger, diseases and wild animals. God promises that he will rescue and save them and be a good shepherd to them. 

This promise is fulfilled in the person of Jesus who declared that He is THE good Shepherd. A Shepherd who lays down his own life for his sheep, a shepherd who is humble, self sacrificial and caring. In the New Testament,  Peter appeals to His fellow leaders to care for the people,  the Church,  with gentleness and humility, to look after them in a serving manner, not abusing them in any way (1 Peter 5:1-4) in reflection of Christ, the good shepherd.



Exposing the evil of abuse rather than covering it up (John 3:20, Ephesians 5:11)


Jesus is LIGHT, in him there is no darkness. Throughout the gospels, he exposes evil, he does not excuse or play it down regardless of the power or respect of those that were committing it. The Bible is honest about evil and so should we be. Jesus exposes evil and so should we. Abuse is evil and wicked and we should expose it because it has no place in the Church that belongs to Christ, the light of the world.


Speaking truth about the evil of abuse rather than diminishing it (Lev 9:11, John 14:6)


Jesus is TRUTH and Christians are called to speak the truth in love, but what does speaking truth mean? The presence of truth, means there is an absence of lies. So speaking the truth means that we avoid lies of omission, which is deceit. We shouldn’t pretend the abuse didn’t happen or use other euphemisms like ‘mistake’ or ‘affair’, we should state clearly what it is – that sexual abuse of another is not a mistake; it is a conscious decision to harm and dehumanise another. As people who believe Jesus is truth, we should be people that value truth however painful it may be. We do so by understanding that it does not reflect Jesus when we do not speak the truth about abuse.


Caring for the vulnerable rather than protecting the powerful (Matthew 25:40, Proverbs 24:23-25)


Time and time again in the bible, God calls his people to care for the most vulnerable in their midst. To care for the widow, the orphan, those that the rest of society were willing to ignore because there was no benefit to them in helping them. Christians are likewise to care for the least of these. When Church abuse happens, the victim is often ignored, discarded and disbelieved as they do not hold the same power as their abuser. Jesus calls us to help the least of these not to protect the powerful. The church must not be partial, nor discriminate and show favour to the wicked powerful person.


Seeking justice rather than adding to oppression (Isaiah 1:17, Proverbs 31:8-9)


The God of the bible is a God of justice, that is his character and time and time again in the bible, he calls his people to reflect him in that.


“…learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”


Justice is not something that happens automatically, we need to learn how to do it well; justice is to be actively pursued and sought out, this is especially important in Zambian culture where very few abusers are brought to account; and this pursuit of justice is achieved by defending those who are oppressed by abuse. People often rush to defend the abuser, highlighting all the good they have done, but Scripture calls us to defend the wronged, the oppressed, the victim.



Comforting those who mourn rather than blaming them (Romans 12:15, Galatians 6:2)


God is love and he calls Christians to be people of love. Christians are called to love God first and then love our neighbours in light of God’s love and grace to us. This love is a practical love, and it includes exhortations to weep with those who are hurting, and carry their  burdens. So rather than looking to blame victims for speaking of the abuse they have endured, we should love them enough to care about their pain and to listen to them, lament with them and support them as they process the impact of their abuse.


No amount of twisting of Scripture could ever justify the cover up of abuse. So, in our response to abuse in the Church, will we be Christians – Christ’s own ambassadors – or will we merely bear His name on our lips and act nothing like Him?

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
WhatsApp