Late Night Cheating and Admirable Reactions

Suggested Reading: Matthew 1:18-25

Late night broadcast television is an horrendous animal. One of the most entertaining and simultaneously disgusting shows is a program called Cheaters. Each week, Cheaters chronicles the life of a couple, one of whom suspects the other of cheating. The show's private investigators follow and film the offending party, show the footage of the infidelity to the victim, and encourage a confrontation between the two while the cheater is with the "other" woman or man. Upon seeing evidence of their partner's infidelity, the people on the show, typically, have two distinct reactions: betrayal and fury. Not just anger, but full-throated, screaming-at-the-top-of-one's-lungs-while-trying-to-rip-the-other-person's-throat-out fury. That reaction is what makes the show immediately both disgusting and addicting. The victim's reaction is the reaction anyone who has ever been cheated on wishes they'd had the guts to have themselves, to give the offending party exactly what they deserve and to do it publicly so that everyone knows exactly what kind of person they are.

In that spirit, I have always thought one of the most overlooked people in the Bible was Joseph, Jesus' earthly father.  Joseph was the epitome of the Christmas spirit. Betrothed to a young woman who shows up pregnant by someone else, he has every right to have her publicly humiliated or possibly stoned. But even before an angel tells him that the child is a miracle of the Holy Spirit, while he still believes that she has betrayed her oath to him and slept with another man, he decides to have mercy on her and end their relationship privately.  He doesn't make a public spectacle of her. He doesn't humiliate her or try to hurt her. He has mercy on her.

Then the angel appears and tells Joseph that Mary is carrying God's child and Joseph does something equally admirable. "He married her but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son." (Matthew 1:24-25 HCSB). Most people cannot wait to share the wedding bed and consider the marriage incomplete (unconsummated) until that event takes place. Add that to the fact that Mary actually becomes Joseph's wife and he is within his rights to sleep with her. But Joseph chooses not to do anything that would later cast doubt upon who Jesus will become. He chooses to let the integrity of God's purpose overrule his own desires and needs. In everything, Joseph chooses to care about God's purpose and God's people more than himself or his own rights.

Both as a symbol of the Christmas Spirit and as an example for life, Joseph is an inspiration for us to draw from. Are we willing to give up our rights for the sake of God's kingdom? Are we willing to let mercy rule out when no one would blame us for taking revenge?  It's no wonder that God chose Joseph just as much as God chose Mary to watch over His Son. 

Lord, let me lay down my own rights for the sake of Your Kingdom. Let me display mercy and never seek revenge, even when people expect it of me.

Avoiding a Holiday Fist-Fight

Suggested Reading: Matthew 5:38-48

A few years back, I did something I didn't think I would ever do. I went to Wal-Mart's Thanksgiving Day sale. My wife and I wanted a couple things for the kids that were on sale and so we braved the crowds. We each found the things we wanted and stood patiently near our items, waiting for the employees to open up the tape hiding the items on sale. When they finally broke the tape, I thought I had suddenly entered a zoo. It actually sounded like a bunch of zoo animals when I stopped to listen to the sounds of the store. But I was close enough to be near the stack and I grabbed my items fairly easily. Standing there, I realized that people were going crazy to reach the small $4 items I held in my hands. So, as people started approaching the stack, calling out for the item in short, frantic yells, rather than grabbing my items and bolting, I stood there calmly handing out the sale items to those who wanted them. One lady, so intent on having to fight her way to the stack seemed to think I was attacking her when I reached toward her with the item she wanted. After a moment, she realized I was offering the item to her, said a confused, "Thank you," and moved on.

When I got home and thought about the experience, these verses came to mind. “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. ’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles" (Matthew 5:38-41, NLT). When Jesus taught these precepts sitting on that hill, they stood out because they consisted of both unexpected patience and undeserved kindness. Now, Jesus was talking about people who were either hostile to us or demanding things of us but the principle is the same. We should do our best to surprise people with acts of kindness and patience, both because it is right and because it affects people.

That woman who received the sale item from me was genuinely taken aback that someone was helping her obtain her item instead of competing with her for it and trying to shove her out of the way. She seemed to slow down, at least for a moment, and remember that Christmas isn't supposed to be pushing and shoving. In some small way, my act of kindness and patience was contagious. Jesus understood that all our acts of kindness and patience are contagious and that a multitude of such acts could change the world.

As you manage the stress of the holidays, deal with people at work or at school, or simply interact with your family, remember to act with unexpected patience and undeserved kindness. You never know when those acts are going to rub off on someone.