We hear, from time to time, the phrase”Pleading The Fifth”. It is in reference to the Fifth Amendment of the American constitution which  “protects individuals from being compelled to be witnesses against themselves in criminal cases”. This doesn’t absolve them from the guilt of said crimes, just from being forced to declare in open court that they are guilty and thus incriminating and being held accountable for their actions.

“Pleading the Fifth” sounds like a reasonable defense, especially when one knows that he is guilty or when others know that she is guilty. After all, it seems better to hide in the shadows than for behavior to be openly exposed and thus judged accordingly. Who really wants sin to be openly exposed for others to see?

Yet I am reminded of a coming event where “Pleading The Fifth” will not be allowable because the demands of justice will overrule the secrecy of actions. This event has to do with all standing before the King of the ages to give an account for actions committed or omitted in the affairs of our human lives. We read it from Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:31-46.

The King divides people into two groups. The group on His right are called sheep. The sheep are invited to “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world.” (34)  You would think that the only condition for entering is to have received Jesus into their lives. But that’s not the reasoning given. “For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me” (35-36). With queried looks, they asked when they did all these things. “In as much you did it to the one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (40).

The group on His left are called goats. They did not do the above. “For I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me” … “Assuredly, I say to you, in as much as you did not do it to the one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me” (42-45).

The Christian life is more than a mere confession of faith. It is aligning our lives with the priorities and values of the King. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, as Jesus taught us, we are asking for His will to be “fleshed out” in our lives,. We are asking for His Kingdom to be lived through us. This takes us beyond mere words. It is life in action, action that is based on compassion and mercy, on justice and fair play, on service and servanthood.

Pleading The Fifth will fall on deaf ears in the court that really matters, where the secrets of hearts are revealed and the actions exposed. There will no hiding or evading the reality of how we lived our lives, of whether we lived out the priorities of the Kingdom.

Knowing this we cannot plead the fifth. If we are wise, we will take a hard look at our lives, while we still can.

Blessings!