Ephesians 5:11–12
“11 Have nothing to do with the deeds produced by darkness, but instead expose them, 12 for it is shameful even to speak of the things these people do in secret.”
(Emphasis mine)
What does it mean to expose the deeds produced by darkness? Believers tend to take the route of “don’t judge” and “don’t engage in lashon hara (derogatory speech)” when dealing with others. For those who are not familiar with lashon hara, it is the use of true speech for a wrongful purpose, i.e. gossip (as opposed to slander, which is untrue). We usually don’t (or at least shouldn’t) go around talking about the sinful behavior of others — this kind of talk would not be edifying to anyone — but this passage from Ephesians clearly encourages us to “expose [the] deeds produced by darkness — shameful [things] people do in secret.” I have a few scenarios that I think fit this command.
Say, for example, someone is running for public office, and you come to find out this person is involved in some illegal or immoral behavior. Naturally, you would want people to know, lest others end up electing this person with skeletons in their closet. Likewise, if you found out someone in a position of leadership (especially in a congregation) was engaging in something vile in secret, you would want to confront them about it, tell their colleagues (i.e. the other leaders of the congregation or the board or HR in a company), and, depending on the severity, the appropriate authorities. These are probably obvious examples to most people, but this doesn’t have to be limited to people in power or leadership. Say someone is a former addict and has been sober for months and is currently in a treatment program, but you come to find out that they are still abusing drugs or alcohol. Again, you would not want to ignore this or let it slide.
There are multiple reasons why we should expose evil deeds: 1. because the person involved will eventually suffer terrible consequences if they don’t stop, 2. because others will be mislead and possibly harmed by that person, and 3. because we hope this person will realize the error of their ways and stop. #3 is very important, because people often think they can get away with something and will feel emboldened to keep doing it if they can keep it a secret, even if it is harmful to their health or well being, so exposing them will help them to realize their error. Also, we should be committed to the truth, and helping to cover up bad behavior is to be an accomplice to a lie. The difference between lashon hara and exposing evil is this: 1. an example of lashon hara would be telling everyone that someone is a former alcoholic and can’t be trusted, thereby destroying their character (even though they are sober now and trying to rebuild their life), while 2. an example of exposing evil would be, upon finding out that an alcoholic who is in rehab is actually still drinking in secret, informing the right people so that hopefully they get the help they need to beat the addiction for good.
Thus, I think it’s fair to say that as believers we should not be living separate from the world nor be ignorant of what is going on in the world. I’m a firm believer that the kingdom of God should be full of activists. We should be engaged with others often, speaking out about what is going on around us, and most importantly, “exposing the [works] of darkness,” so that we can be a force for positive change. That’s my take on it. Do you agree?
