Snap Judgment
Common sense is so skillfully depicted in today's Old Testament reading.
Later, two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. The one woman said, "Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were together; there was no one else with us in the house, only the two of us were in the house. Then this woman's son died in the night, because she lay on him. She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant slept. She laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, I saw that he was dead; but when I looked at him closely in the morning, clearly it was not the son I had borne." But the other woman said, "No, the living son is mine, and the dead son is yours." The first said, "No, the dead son is yours, and the living son is mine." So they argued before the king. 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." But the woman whose son was alive said to the king-because compassion for her son burned within her-"Please, my lord, give her the living boy; certainly do not kill him!" The other said, "It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it." Then the king responded:"Give the first woman the living boy; do not kill him. She is his mother." All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute justice. - 1 Kings 3:16-28
The king's solution to the argument of the two women was one that depended on love and compassion to succeed. The first one to speak up in defense of the boy had to be the real mother, and that make so much sense, we may not see the wisdom beneath it.
How good are we at recognizing common sense judgment today?
Had the king lived in modern times, with the possibility of him holding a sword over the boy being captured in a photo and plastered across social media, all of Israel might have had a different view of the king's judgment.
Everything we do today is judged in the moment, before our strategy has a chance to play out. But we don't all play by the same rules, and so we don't know how someone else might react when we make our play.
The woman whose son was alive needed to have the chance to speak in order for the king's decision to be shown for what it really was, a ploy to get to the truth.
The downside to instantaneous judgment is fear of taking a risk. Who wants to be caught saying or doing something that seems foolish or bigoted, even if it could lead to the right outcome?
You could argue that the king was wrong, that he showed a lack of concern for the life of the boy, but that isn't how the story played out. The king understood the forces at work and made a decision that called them forth.
Sometimes we need to bring attention to the issue in a way that shocks and disturbs people, if only to get to the truth, and from there, to a resolution of the conflict.
If we are afraid to make decisions because we will be judged harshly, nothing will get done, and no one will benefit.
So, maybe we should grab the sword and solve this conflict by forcing the truth to come out.
More to come...