AS a teenager, a problem I quite often faced was pimples, and some times that single pimple sprouting out of my face on an important occasion could wreck my confidence and my evening! I remember an ad that used to come out in all newspapers and cinema screens, “If pimples are your problem, use Clearasil!” Tons of the product must have been used by the youth of those days, and yet forests of pimples sprouted! A pimple could destroy relationships and take away your self-assurance. Pimple were a problem and still are.
A few years ago, I sat on the board as general secretary of a religious magazine. But the board made up of supposedly spiritual leaders were angry with me: I’d discovered the treasurer, a priest was signing blank checks and leaving it at the office for the staff to use at their discretion, and horror of horrors, the second signatory also a priest had signed on many of the blank cheques! So here were two, waiving responsibility about how donated money was being used and spent. I then found the chairman had cut the Christmas bonuses of the employees so he could print a book he wanted to give away free. The staff pleaded with me and as secretary I realized I had to bring all this to the notice of the board. A chartered accountant who had no right to attend the meeting was called at the invitation of the frightened chairman. “Bob!” said the bald CA with a crafty smile, “This problem is only a pimple!”Today when I read of bishops, nuns, priests and other clergy being accused of rape, molestation, land grabbing and cheating, I think of this incident, because at one time the problem must have been just a pimple. My mother would look at the pimple that filled my face and tell me, “Don’t ever scratch it Bob, and give me some homemade concoction that helped it go away, albeit a bit slowly. There were many who scratched it, tried primitive methods to make it disappear, even hid it with clever makeup and it raised its ugly head again in a more horrible way, later! And that I believe is what we do with so called pimple problems; try to hide them, sweep them under the carpet, camouflage them, and under heavy makeup and cover they flourish and grow more ugly, loathsome and evil. No organization created for charitable or spiritual work can flourish if there is rot underneath, can it? So, with water, soap and plenty of courage start cleaning, so that those pimples don’t have a chance of sullying and dirtying you or the organization you serve in. If pimples are your problem, have the courage to deal with it now..!
—Email: bobsbanter@gmail.com
