There is an amusing folk song that extols the virtues of the county of Norfolk in England. The last line of the chorus proclaims, ‘we are the boys that are Norfolk and Good.’ Say it quickly and you get the message of a profound insight into the human condition!

I recently watched a documentary on Netflix entitled, ‘Jimmy Saville: A British Horror Story.’ The horror story being the fact that an unbelievably popular DJ, courted by celebrities, royalty and politicians, could have become so powerful that he got away with abusing hundreds of children. It is a story of how the powerful can manipulate their way into positions of trust and unquestioning admiration…all because of their good works. Jimmy Saville did so many good works in raising money for various charities that he even earned himself a knighthood! He even deluded himself by thinking he could earn his way out of trouble.

In an interview Saville talked about having a list of all the things he’d done good and another with all the things he’d done bad. He then talked about how he hoped that the good list outweighed the bad list when he reached the pearly gates. It is true, Saville was raised Catholic, but there is little to suggest that he practised the faith, as evidenced by such a distorted view of divine judgement. The idea that you can work your way into heaven by lots of good works, apart from the way you live your life is a complete fallacy. If we are talking checks and balances, the Christian response to evaluating ‘good works’ is too look at our levels of humility. By accepting that we are Norfolk and Good we allow the presence of God’s Grace to break through in to our lives, because we need a saviour to lift us out of the human mire.

John Lydon (AKA Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols) gave an interview with the BBC in 1978. In it he tried to talk about the seediness that Saville was into. The interview was never released and Lydon claims he was subsequently banned by the BBC from further appearances. It was one of the things that attracted me to punk in my youth, the brutal honesty and lack of BS. As for Saville, the allegations against him began to be taken more seriously towards the end of his life. But he always denied it and remained unrepentant to the end. It looks like JS was heading for the fiery pit despite his list of checks and balances…and thank God for that. I certainly don’t want to spend my eternity with the likes of Saville. Now Johnny Rotten, I wouldn’t mind!

‘But I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people.’ (Psalm 22:6)

So is this self effacing approach about putting ourselves down and having a negative opinion of oneself, as some may have us believe? By no means. I would say it is a crucial part of our flourishing as human beings. It is a way of putting to the sword that most destructive of tendencies…our pride. Grasping that salvific nature of our relationship to God, as he that rescues us from our sin, is indeed entering in to humility. It is embracing honesty and openness…that we really don’t need to cover up the bad bits, that we need to expose them to God’s Grace. We really are ‘Norfolk and Good’ because as Jesus said to the rich man who desired to inherit eternal life…

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.”

(Mark 10:18)