Good morning people who act in a people-honouring way

Matthew 1:18-19 (NIV84) This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

I love this statement: ‘Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace’.

Now, this was not an ordinary situation Joseph found himself in. His fiancé Mary was pregnant and yet he had not slept with her. Naturally speaking, this means Mary had been unfaithful to him. Obviously, we know that it was a supernatural impregnation by the Holy Spirit, but at this point, the angel of the Lord had not yet appeared to Joseph and told him the truth. All he had was what Mary would have said. Therefore, it is reasonable and right, that Joseph, and any other godly man, would at best struggle with accepting this, and more likely, not believe it (let’s just be honest here).

“So, what does this righteous man who loved God do in this moment?”

He decides to honour this woman by not exposing her to public disgrace.What an honourable man! What an example to us all today!

As in the story of the father with the prodigal son, our Father always seeks to cover our shame and brokenness and not expose it for others to jeer at and bring condemnation. So too was Joseph’s heart.

Now Joseph struggled with what he believed Mary had done, and yes, he planned to divorce her quietly, but naturally speaking, that was not a wrong thing to do. Yet even in this, he purposed to do it quietly while not exposing her to public disgrace.

“Are we people who expose others to public disgrace or do we honour them before others by being quiet?”