An Unfair Target

The electric atmosphere in the office caught everyone’s attention. Seated in her cubicle, Jane was the target of the department head’s ire. “I instructed you last week not to file these papers in the old system any longer but to begin a new file. I can’t believe you ignored my instructions.” She ranted on for a few minutes more. Other employees, seated in their cubicles, kept their heads down; however, their ears were attuned to the berating.

A Moment of Decision   

Meanwhile, Jane kept waiting for Anna, who was in the next cubicle, to speak up. For after Jane was instructed about the new filing plan the week before, she had explained it to Anna, who had been away on vacation. However, Anna had responded by ignoring the instruction and continued filing documents in the old system. Now, Anna sat

frozen in fear, silent, as the boss directed her rage towards Jane.

As a follower of Jesus, Jane felt torn. Should she tell the boss that Anna was the one who had ignored the new directive? Shouldn’t Anna have to take responsibility for her actions? Jane’s desire for vindication was strong. As she contemplated her choices, the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit grew steadily stronger, urging her to willingly bear the wrong.  In that difficult moment, Jane decided to obey.

Jane responded, “I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again.”

Her boss hissed, “Well, it better not!”

Later, as Jane passed by Anna’s cubicle, Anna glanced up from her desk and mouthed the words, “Thank you.”  Jane had resisted the temptation to blame her coworker.

A Joyous Decision

The predicament Jane faced isn’t that unusual, but her decision to bear the wrong is. In Philippians 1:29 Paul writes, “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”  Bearing a wrong is part of being a Christian and is an action to be accepted and endured with faith.

In our flesh, however, we know how difficult that can be, especially when we have been unfairly treated. Our flesh cries out for vindication. We want the one committing the wrong against us to confess, to bear the consequences for her own actions. When we come to the precipice of these decisions, we must allow the truths of Scripture to direct our actions, instead of following our often-intense feelings of anger, frustration, or outrage.

When we view Jane’s actions through the lens of Scripture, we witness the example of Jesus, bearing the sins of another, of unjust treatment, of not reviling when reviled:

But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently,

this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because

Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow

His steps: Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth;

Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He

did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges

righteously; Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that

we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you

were healed (I Peter 2:20b-24).

Jane later described the feeling of joy that immediately filled her when she obeyed the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit that momentous day. That incident also gave her the opportunity to share with Anna why she had taken that difficult route. A key scripture that speaks about the joy of obedience is John 15:11, "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."  The heart of this verse tells us that by keeping God's commandments, we experience true, complete joy.

We, too, can experience the joy of the love of Christ in action by bearing another’s wrong. Lord, fill us with the courage to follow You on that often-difficult path.