Most of us talk to many people every day, sharing our opinions about sports and current events or making judgments about decisions made or even about people we know. Have you ever thought that a single sentence, or just a single word, could have terrible and far-reaching consequences that may result in a violent storm? One day, I discovered that such a storm could exist, and that, quite unexpectedly, I could be the cause of it. Let me tell you my sad, regrettable story.
It happened in the afternoon when I was in kindergarten, so I was just five years old. After playing games, a boy named Yan cried out, “Where’s my pencil? I can’t find it anywhere.” By the way, the missing pencil was a very beautiful one that was immediately noticed by all his classmates, including myself. Then our teacher asked, “Is there anyone who saw Yan’s pencil?” No one responded that they had seen it. After class, I went to the teacher’s lounge and told her, “I think I know who stole Yan’s pencil.” She asked me to tell her more about it. I said, “It was … hum … Zhou, because I saw him at Yan’s desk when I went back to the classroom for a drink during our break time. She thanked me for telling her, and then told me that she would take care of it.
A few days later, I heard that our teacher had talked with Zhou about the missing pencil, and to my complete surprise, he had confessed to taking it. I felt so relieved and knew that God had blessed me, because I really didn’t see Zhou take it even though he was alone in the classroom with me during recess. But now my suspicions were confirmed, and I was grateful.
However, much to my surprise, it was later determined that Zhou had not taken the pencil, but just confessed to it when confronted by our stern teacher. He must have felt it was better to confess rather than try to deny it under such extreme pressure from our teacher. Although he was completely innocent, he did not want to face the possibility of even worse punishment. I felt so sorry for Zhou, but I didn’t apologize to him because I lacked courage. Even today, he doesn’t know who his accuser was, but I know, and it still haunts me.
Today, when I think of this event, my heart hurts deeply. Although I didn’t mean to hurt him, I most surely did. Stealing is a very wicked behavior for a kid, and once you are branded as a thief, a child would always be suspected of being a potential wrong-doer (sometimes even being regarded as a criminal). I don’t know how the other kids treated him after that event, but I was sure of one thing, Zhou must be very sad for being thought of as a “thief,” all because of me. I’m sure he never understood how he could be falsely accused of something he never did. Such a groundless charge could break the heart and soul of a little child. What a demon I was!
I know how irresponsible it was to arbitrarily accuse someone. I realized how easily one could be destroyed by such a thoughtless and cruel act. Today, whenever I express my opinion about someone, I always consider if I am just being opinionated or if my judgment is based upon fact. I now try to always make sure that when I speak, I speak only those things that are true. I have no right to hurt anyone, and I must remember that what is spoken cannot be taken back. I must be careful with every word I speak, for if I say something that is not true, I will commit a terrible sin.
Additional Comments – I suspect that at one time or another, we have all been falsely accused. We see it often in families with children accusing a sibling of a “misdemeanor” when in fact, that sibling was innocent. We see it in school, in the workplace, and in virtually every kind of social gathering. Along with fear and rejection, being falsely accused is one of the most hurtful emotional experiences we can face.
Like my former student, I remember when I was in grammar school and our teacher accused me of talking in class when, in fact, it was a student sitting behind me. I claimed total innocence, that I had not been talking, and that it must have been someone else. However, he rejected my plea, and then accused me of not telling the truth, all in front of all my classmates. Fortunately, my classmates all knew that I was not the one talking, and so I was never “branded” by my classmates as a “rogue.” But the teacher always assumed that I was the culprit.
Those who like to watch courtroom dramas know that there is always someone who is accused of a crime, and then witnesses are called upon to testify to what they know or had seen. When Jesus was brought to trial before the High Priest, they were desperately looking for witnesses, even false witnesses, who could get their stories straight so that they could formally accuse Jesus of a crime worthy of death. They finally found two people who had remembered Jesus saying at the beginning of His ministry that He would “…destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days” (Jn. 2:19). By this time, the reconstruction and expansion of the Temple in Jesus day had already taken over 45 years, so they assumed that Jesus must be a mad-man. But John tells us that Jesus was not referring to the physical Temple in Jerusalem, but to the “temple” of His body that would be “rebuilt.” Of course, He was referring to the raising of His own body from the grave after His crucifixion (Jn. 2:20-22).
Being a false witness is strictly condemned in virtually any moral society. We rely on truth-telling in order to make decisions about guilt or innocence. But my student realized that a false witness (who was himself) caused another student to assume a “brand” of being a “thief.” Knowing the truth about the incident, my student was sincerely hoping that this “brand” would not remain with him for very long. This is why, all of us need to be very careful about “branding” people. If an accusation we have heard about someone turns out to be true, I prefer to view that person as someone who has “stolen,” or “lied,” or “failed,” rather than calling this person a “thief,” a “liar,” or a “failure.” A branding is about the “essence” of who a person is, not about what he/she has done.
Are you aware that God has “branded” every Christian? The Apostle John says, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed up on us, that we should be called ‘Children of God,’ and that is who we are” (I Jn. 3:1). Notice that again, it’s not just what we are called, but it’s actually “who we are.” If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a “Child of God,” and that is your new identity, or branding. At the same time, regardless of whether a person is inside or outside of the Body of Christ, we all need to be careful of the labels we place upon people. We are human beings who do regrettable things, but let’s not allow a particular “regrettable act” become a person’s branding. That person is simply someone who happened to make a regrettable mistake, and that is why we all need to refrain from accusations that are capable of destroying people’s lives.
