Saving the Polo Bears

The Duke of Sussex, who enjoys lecturing mortals on the importance of sustainable living and our ecological impact, has made the news again. Back in 2020, the Independent was reporting that he took part in a discussion to launch WaterBear, a streaming service dedicated to documentaries about environmental issues, conservation and the climate crisis, during which he called for ‘doing not talking’ regarding the environment and climate crisis. Good man. Yet this very week, the Telegraph reports that this green trailblazer flew by private jet for a one-day polo tournament 1,000 miles from his Californian home. Meanwhile, his kit was transported in a separate car. But that’s okay, because he is a prince, and the security concerns raised by sharing a plane with one’s polo kit must be serious.

We are told that all sins are offensive to God, but there must surely be a special category of sin with the heading ‘hypocrisy’ scored in darker writing. The Lord Jesus reviled the hypocrisy of the pharisees more than the greed of the tax collectors and the promiscuity of the loose. The danger, however, and rather ironically, is that sniffing the odour of hypocrisy on others is somewhat easier and more pleasurable than noticing our own. We preachers ought to be reminded of this. How often we urge congregations to trust better the Lord, or pray to Him more fervently, or to fear not the grave, while away from our pulpits we risk the very failings we urge others to avoid.

Keep me true, Lord Jesus, keep me true,

Keep me true, Lord Jesus, keep me true,

There's a race that must be run,

There's a vict'ry to be won,

Ev'ry hour by Thy pow'r keep me true.

-Jabu Hlongwane

Image by Darrel Collins from Pixabay