The law was clear on adultery: stone both parties. (Leviticus 20:10). Eventually, patriarchal enforcers flipped it to – stone only the female.
Father-in-law Judah, without blinking, passed the sentence on his widowed Daughter-in-law. (Genesis 38). The Pharisees swiftly sentenced the woman caught in adultery (John 8 )
So why did Joseph spare Mary? Instead of blowing the whistle on her?
One of my learnings from the banking industry is that policies are not cast in stone. They are rules outlining applicable sanctions to scenarios. Although there are exceptions to the rules, depending on the arbiter.
Facing the Panel
Therefore, you could be summoned to face a panel & found guilty. Then, as your charge is taken for ratification by management, everyone appends their signature feelinglessly. Because to them, you do not exist. You are just a number. Another statistic that could be swiftly replaced.
However, when your document gets to the last signatory, he sits on it.
He has bigger fishes to fry so you are not that important. Internal Control lobbies him to sign so the system can toss you out. But he keeps stalling.
“Sir, this is a *Quadrant 1 issue. We need to close it out ASAP”
He thinks it belongs in *Quadrant 4.
Meanwhile, you are half dead from trepidation. Already cleaning out your workstation and saying your goodbyes.
“Why the fuss about this staff?” he queries
“Sir, it is more about the bank than the staff. We have to use her as an example. To reinforce to others the bank’s zero tolerance level on such matters”
Nevertheless, what they are not saying is that it is more about them than the bank. You see, this will put them in a good light. They saved the bank again.
“Give me till close of business” he waves them off
Then as he goes into the toilet to take a leak, his eyes catch the mirror. And images flutter before his eyes…. His mother. His sister. his daughter. And he shakes his head to refocus his foggy eyes.
The penny has dropped.
Back at his seat, he immediately calls up your file. And scrawls a line across it.
“Loose her & let her go”
“What!”
Confusion and indignation erupts downstairs.
“Surely, the MD made a mistake”
“He is setting an unsustainable precedence”
“This same man signed off last month to sack someone whose error was lesser“
As you stare at the email, all the pent up emotions erupt and you dissolve in tears.
Choosing The Choice
Although Mary knew how she got pregnant, don’t you think she must have been worried about Joseph’s reaction?
He was the mortal who held her life in his hands. Just a word in the wrong ears and she was gone.
During that period when he ‘pondered’ it, what was going on in Mary’s head?
The Bible records that “Joseph was a good man” (Matthew 1:19)
Which implies that there is an ungood man. Someone who could have spurned the angel’s message.
He could have been so caught up in self that he cared nothing for anyone. His ego was at stake and if it meant killing the Messiah alongside Mary, he didn’t care. Afterall, he, not God, was wearing the shoes
God could sort himself out another way.
However, Joseph, like Judah, ignored the policy and chose kindness. After Tamar called him out secretly, he could have still leveraged his position. Knowing that in a ‘He says She says’ situation, he would win.
As you celebrate #Christmas, ask yourself: “Am I a good man?”
If I was Joseph, would there have been a Christmas at all?
When the balance of power tilts in your favour, do you remember to be humane?
- *Refer to Stephen Covey’s 4 Quadrants