Fair Judgment

If I can't be happy, neither will you.

Then the king said, "The one says, 'This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead'; while the other says, 'Not so! Your son is dead, and my son is the living one.' " So the king said, "Bring me a sword," and they brought a sword before the king. The king said, "Divide the living boy in two; then give half to the one, and half to the other." - 1 Kings 3:23-25

In today's reading from 1 Kings, the king settles an argument between two women by threatening to split the son of one in two.

It seems like a harsh remedy for the situation, but in the end, it turns out to have been a wise decision, since the woman who was the real mother became known by her compassion.

By being willing to give up her son to keep him alive, she showed she was truly his mom.

Now right up until the moment the woman stopped the king from using the sword against her son, anyone witnessing this would have been appalled.  They would have thought the king had lost his mind or had become evil.  How could he sacrifice a child?

The wisdom he exhibited was not obvious until the end.

Sometimes we have to wait until the strategy is all played out before we can see the wisdom behind it.  But we don't have the patience or the will to do that today.

We want to know that the outcome is assured before we agree that the action is justified.

So, we judge in fragments, anticipating what we fear and rising up against it.

I believe we have come to a place where we do not trust the judgment of those who lead, and when that happens, we are no longer one.

As I read this story of the king and the women fighting over the one son, I listen for the voice in the crowd shouting, "Stop.  This is crazy!"

Now here is the question.  Should someone have shouted that?

More to come...