A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. (Proverbs chapter 22 verse 1). A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. (Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 1).
So: what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives…make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with God. (2 Peter chapter 3 verses11 & 14)
[What follows are extracts from the WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINE article 26/27 February 2022 by journalist Troy Bramston of the last interview of ex-Aussie PM the late Bob Hawke shortly before his death].
His character flaws were legendary: his legacy was extraordinary.
Bob Hawke was fading and said he was ready, even eager to go. He did not know what afterlife there may be. He had long been agnostic but never an atheist.
[Gavin writes that: agnosticism involves having a doubtful non-committal attitude, but Jesus says still today: He who is not with Me is against Me and he who does not gather with Me scatters].
Death: the great leveller
Hawke…regretted not being a better father to his [named] children. Or a better husband…He acknowledged his adultery and the impact of ‘demon drink’ on their marriage.
He did not drink alcohol during his prime ministership but also did not relinquish his insatiable appetite for sex with women he was not married to either. He loved Blanche but was not faithful to her either…
He did not see any difficulty loving both Hazel and Blanche…He was not interested in…dwelling on regrets. ‘I’m not saying I was perfect…but overall there is nothing I would change’.
Hawke was a notorious drinker, an infamous womaniser and prone to angry public outbursts. He was a terrible drunk and could get verbally abusive. He was a serial adulterer who could be selfish and careless….
Hazel
He married Hazel Masterson in 1956 and they raised three children. They lived with the roiling turmoil that most Australians read about or saw on television, and suffered because of it.
Hazel knew about some of his womanising, including Blanche.The alcohol mattered more than the affairs. She would not have been happy about it but…was resigned to it.
Hawke did not believe he had an addictive personality. He refused to accept he was an alcoholic and would never have accepted that he had an addiction to sex.
Bramston’s book (launched in March 2022) recorded how Hawke “enjoyed swimming in his pool naked and then climbing out to talk to union or party colleagues without getting a towel.” [the WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN 12/13 March 2022 p4]
[Gavin writes: wisdom, understanding and judgment will: keep you from the adulteress…with her seductive words. (Proverbs chapter 7 verse 5). She gives no thoughtto her way of life; her paths are crooked but she knows it not. (Proverbs chapter 5 verse 6].
Phillip Adams
[Broadcaster and social commentator, the WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINE 26-27 March 2022 p42].
“I was a wholehearted supporter of Hawkie when he plotted against” the then leader of the Labor Party for the Prime Ministership of Australia.
“What changed my mind then? It wasn’t the affairs - of which I knew many, thanks to first person accounts. Or his habit of walking around hotel rooms in the nuddy, [nude] as reported to me by an aghast [female Victorian State] premier.” [the fruit of the Spirit of God includes: self-control. (Galatians chapter 5 verse 23)].
Adams recounted the fact of Hawke often weeping. “Bob…insisted his tears were proof of his extraordinary empathy. Except that they weren’t…the PM’s tears…might ostensibly be for children in poverty or for the victims of Tiananmen Square, but were actually shed for himself…most of the time his tears were fraudulent, theatrical. Sometimes he shed them in very close proximity to me”.
Adams asked himself whether his view was clouded by his “deep affection for my late friend, the long-suffering Hazel? Perhaps. A little.” The ill-feeling between Adams and Hawke towards each other was “intensified by my admiration for [a rival’s ascension] to the throne Bob fought so bitterly…Bob so loved the limelight there was never enough to share…
Yes, I concur with Troy Bramston and history that Hawke was a fine PM. One of the best. But he was not a fine man”.
What God says
The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. (1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 24). Jesus says: The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. (Luke chapter 6 verse 45). ‘Notoriousness’ involves being famous for some bad quality or deed.
Paul advised the young Timothy to: set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. (chapter 4 verse 12). God likewise says that to us. And He says: Be very careful how you live - not as unwise but as wise. (Ephesians chapter 5 verse 15).
A man’s reputation reflects how he behaved during life. Our memories bring past events and behaviour back into our present. In the flesh, the God:man Jesus was the finest human being who ever lived. So we still want to remember and emulate Him.
With His closest friends at the last supper, Jesus said of the broken bread representing His soon to be broken body: This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me. (Luke chapter 22 verse 19).
Because of His stupendous self-sacrifice for us and His spectacular resurrection, we still do that.
Gavin Lawrie is a retired Barrister and Solicitor from Tweed Heads NSW Australia and author of the book: 'THE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION: Uncovering The Faulty Science Of Dawkins' Attack On Creationism'. He is married to Jan with two adult children and they are grandparents.
Gavin Lawrie's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/gavin-lawrie.html
