When appearances deceive

The 2014 football World Cup is well underway.  (Those few words will entice a yawn from some and perhaps an increased level of engagement from others - if my wife, Sue, has started reading this blog she probably stopped after that first sentence!)  Perhaps not altogether surprisingly, England lost their first match to Italy, though if the truth be known they did put on a reasonably good performance.  Hope is still alive for England's further progression in the competition, with two more group games to play; we shall see!

One of the talking points in the lead-up to the England v Italy match was the fact that the game would be played in the north of Brazil, at Manaus.  There was some concern about whether the relatively high temperatures and humidity of northern Brazil might have an adverse effect on the team's performance.  In reality the players coped reasonably well, although a few did suffer from cramp late in the match.  As the game drew nearer, the focus of concern switched to the state of the playing surface.  Apparently the pitch has been fed with too much fertiliser, causing a swathe of dark patches where the grass had been burnt.  It certainly didn't appear to be a pitch which was likely to be conducive to good football.

This led to perhaps the most comedic moment of the World Cup so far when some workmen were pictured apparently spraying the pitch with green paint to improve its appearance!

By the time kick-off arrived, the pitch certainly had a much improved appearance, though I'm not convinced that making it look better helped the players play any better.  I'm sure they would have been very upset if they got paint on their expensive designer boots!

There seems to be something in our human nature which encourages us to try and cover things up.  If someone asks us how we are, we might reply, "fine, thanks", when underneath we're feeling anything but fine.  If we've done something which we knew was wrong or would cause hurt in some way to others, we might try and cover it up in the hope that no-one finds out about it.  There are lots of ways in which we can be tempted to cover things up, and this doesn't just apply to individuals.  The Freedom of Information Act created a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities, information which in some cases might otherwise have been kept under cover.

In this regard, one of the most startling, and perhaps unnerving, things Jesus said to his disciples was, 'There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.'  (Luke 12:2&3).  It's not a clear cut black-and white issue, but maybe there are times when we need to avoid the "cover it up" approach, and be more honest and open.  Certainly Jesus' words give plenty of food for thought!