I read once that when the Titanic was beginning to sink, that there were people still sitting at their dining tables sipping drinks saying that there was nothing to worry about. They truly did not believe that the ship could sink. That is what we would call "false hope". This sort of confidence is not based in reality, it is based in one's denial of reality. In times of trial most of us will slip into one of two errors. Either we will presume the worst and lose our heads, or we will deny what is happening (and lose our heads in another way).
I wrote about hope yesterday, and today I need to mention what a false hope is. True hope recognizes what is going on and is cautious in its response. True hope stays with what is solid and certain (the reign of Christ) and then walks gently with everything else. It can be difficult to determine what is right and what is wrong in the news reports (especially from certain sources who are clearly compromised). The thing we cannot do is either assume that every report is 100% accurate, nor assume that this will "all just blow over eventually". Hope will definitely be the false kind if we place it in the wrong things.
It was Pope St. Gregory the Great who said, "It is better that scandals arise than the truth be suppressed." Hard words, but true. It is this kind of perspective which helps us to keep proper hope. Recognizing that scandals lead to the display of truth (though sometimes it takes some time before the truth is evident) helps us to avoid jumping to conclusions (either for or against). I will acknowledge that the denial that some are tempted to fall into may seem like it provides comfort. Who of us would not want this all to be just a big misunderstanding, and to find out that no one actually abused, no one covered up, and it is just an attempt by the devil to distract us from more important things?
It may sadden us to find scandals abounding today, but that should actually encourage our hearts to have hope. Yes, I know that probably makes no sense. No, scandals do not provide hope, but when they occur, that is when we need to say "now's the time to secure my hope in God". Consider this: when there are scandalous things occurring, but we do not know about them, it may seem nicer ("ignorance is bliss"), but that means that bad things are continuing to occur unchecked. That means that the perpetrators of these wicked behaviors are getting away with it. If we find out that there never were any scandals to begin with (and I am sorry, but it seems highly unlikely at this point), then we can be happy that someone cared enough to make sure of it.
When the truth arises (even if it is a heartbreaking truth), we can then know how to pray, and we can trust that God will do something in response to our prayers. Being aware of problems means that God is acting, and that we can take part in what He is doing (even if that is only through our prayers). Trust me, God is not sitting up in Heaven wringing His hands together trying to figure this one out. He already knows what He has planned, and what the good is that He is planning on bringing out of this.
In knowing that truth, we can place our hope in Jesus and seek to understand what part we can play in overcoming these events. The Lord wants a specific response during times of scandal: He wants us to seek to increase our hope. We do this by focusing our trust on Him and His promises. Saying to ourselves, "yes, some bad things are happening, and now I know how to pray" is the right response. This is true hope. This is confidence in the gracious promises of God.
