Smooth it over & Play it Down - We want to look good.

Playing It Down For Appearance Sake.
There's been a huge deal of press lately about the Police in Northern Ireland 'playing down' terrorist activity. It is said that this is "to make it (N. Ireland) appear more normal than it actually is."
Apparently if a victim of a terrorist group is police, army etc then it is classified as a terrorist attack, but if the victim is a member of the public or a business etc then it's not.
While i believe that classification should be on the basis of who carries out the attack regardless of who the target is, i'm not sure that we should be surprised by this playing down of things in order for appearance.


We all categorize.
When it comes to sin against holy God we make our own classifications. Not willing to admit our desperate appearance of depravity and nakedness before Him we try to smooth it over in our minds.
"Well, i've never . . ." or "I'm not that bad" perhaps "I know i'm not perfect but i'm really a good person."


All Have Sinned.
The Bible doesn't pander to our appearance, pride or self-righteousness. It declares that all have sinned (Rom 3:23) and that anyone who keeps the whole law, yet fails even in just one point is held accountable for all of it (James 2:10). It goes further still, and actually declares that all the self-righteous works that we have done, and which we point to in self justification, are like filthy menstrual rags before God's eyes (Isaiah 64:6).


Appearing Righteous Before God.
Jesus alone stands unstained, yet it is He who felt the full wrath of God over our sin while hanging upon the cross. Only in Him can we find true purity, and only in Him can we appear before God as righteous.