Honest Courage

https://odb.org/MY/2023/02/15/juror-number-8

It is one thing to go against the crowd in terms of us not comforming to the pattern of the world, but this is more of us having the courage to be honest in a particular situation. This is actually not as straightforward as we may want to think it is. For example, if a lady asks us whether we think she is fat, being completely honest is quite suicidal and may also be devastating to the inquirer. Yet we are not to lie. So perhaps a good solution is to side step the question to avoid being honest or lie. Another situation is when confronted with a difficult question in a meeting with the big boss like the CEO. As much as people say negative things about ‘yes men’, it may not be advisable to be completely honest if the answer will embarrass your boss or your big boss. So perhaps the solution is to fudge the answer in such a way that we are non-committal on the answer without being completely honest and yet not lying.

In today’s ODB life example of the movie, 12 Angry Men, the eigth juror took a dissenting view and expressed doubt on the culpability of the person charged and in the end convinced all the other jurors to follow suit. The test for criminal culpability in law is that of beyond reasonable doubt, meaning to say, if we have doubts, we don’t convict as the accused will be deprived of liberty or life if found guilty. Thus, we can not afford to make a mistake. The consequence is jail or death. In civil cases between aggrieved parties like a suit for a breach of contract, the standard applied is lower, that is, on balance of probabilities. This means if we think on a scale that the plaintiff is 51% entitled to his claim, we give judgment to him. Thus, the context of Exodus 23 is very much in a lawsuit or the administration of justice. In such instances, we must not bear false witness or use the justice system to oppress the poor or the foreigner, and that includes bribing the judge to achieve a favourable result. There must be fairness and justice when we conduct ourselves in a court of law, whether as a plaintiff, lawyer, prosecutor, or judge. Let the truth prevail and let the aggrieved party be entitled to his claim in accordance with the law if indeed that was the truth.

In other instances, I think we should still exercise honesty with courage but also wisdom. Just because we are Christian does not mean we have to be completely honest all the time. We must still not lie, but I think if the situation is not conducive for us to be completely honest, we must avoid answering the question. In Genesis 12 and 20, Abraham lied twice about Sarah, his wife, as his sister, and in the second instance when the King Abimelech took Sarah into his harem, the LORD intervened and threatened to destroy the King. In that instance, God told the King the truth of the situation.

In conclusion, I just like to say that we must always exercise wisdom in our dealings with one another and others. Honest courage is indeed a virtue and should be aspired to, but there could be times when we need to exercise wisdom in our ultimate choice of words.