So, Fife’s Chief Constable was in a head-on crash resulting in two hospitalisations, and there are reports that her car was the one that crossed into on-coming traffic.

Does anyone really think it is appropriate that those who work under her authority are the ones investigating the crash?  Internal investigations by subordinates are only fitting for wholly internal matters.  When there are ramifications for people outside an organisation, you simply don’t rely on internal investigations by subordinates of the person who is being investigated.

If Ms Graham is cleared of wrong-doing, some will suggest that the investigation was compromised.  If she is charged, some will suggest that she was treated unfairly because the investigators were trying to demonstrate their independence.  It’s a no-win, either way.  No police officer should be put in this position, and Ms Graham should recognise this and ask for an outside investigation to protect her officers.

This post isn’t really about Fife Constabulary.  I only mention it because it demonstrates something important about Christians, and our behaviour.  We need to not only be honest and appropriate in what we do, we also need to be visibly honest and appropriate.  Appearances matter.

It isn’t enough to be honest about financial matters — we should have safeguards in place so that no one will doubt that we are handling funds properly.  It isn’t sufficient to be careful of the safety of children who come to our church — we should ensure that anyone who asks will know we are being careful.  We should not only be ethical in our approach to counselling, we should also be visibly ethical.  And so on….

People will always make accusations that Christians and churches aren’t doing things properly.  We can’t prevent accusations — but we should always be careful to behave in such a way that those accusations will look extremely foolish.

Romans 12:17

Provide things honest in the sight of all men.