Blame it on the victim

When the accusations are true, how do we live in freedom?

My last blog discussed the need to be mindful of the potential to quickly assign guilt - especially toward the male - when sexual harassment accusations cause passions to peak. My purpose was to demonstrate the wisdom of James 1:19, who warns, "Be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger."

When we ignore that instruction, and assume the worst of both accusers and victims, lives are destroyed. It happened in the Salem Witch Trials, the McCarthy Hearings, and it is happening today as the frenzy of sexual harassment allegations seep in from every corner of our culture. People are viewed as guilty before their cases are even heard.

But what if?

Putting it succinctly: Abuses of power in the workplace exist and much of it is sexually charged. The contention that our culture often sees women as partially responsible demonstrates that women are perceived as being unholy and tainted in issues of professionalism and sexuality. This view is unbiblical and archaic.

We must address the need to re-examine how society views women in general. In order to lay a foundation, consider the following questions about these biblical females:

• When you visualize Mary Magdelene, what comes to mind?

• When you recall the story of Herod's daughter dancing before him, what type of dancing comes to the forefront?

• When you read about the Samaritan woman at the well acknowledging her 5th husband, do you assume that she must be hopping from man to man?

If you thought of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute, Herodias' daughter as a pole dancer, and the Samaritan woman as a "man-eater", you are not alone. But the facts revealed in those women's lives say nothing about these assumptions. Mary was demon-possessed, his daughter's dance delighted the king (not necessarily sexually), and both legally and culturally, women could not divorce their husbands (Matthew 5:31-32). Yet in these instances we assume that another girl has "gone wild" and we shake our heads, 'tsk-ing ' in judgment. If this is the mindset in 2017, is it any wonder that so few women felt they could come forward with accusations of sexual violations of power 10, 20, or 40 years ago? When having lived through such events, to heap more shame and degradation upon the victim reenforces the negative label.

These women are our sisters in the next cubicle, the next office, the next dorm room or in the mirror. It is to them - to us - that I speak this truth. Some sins are done to us; some sins are done through us. But the result is the same - chains of shame.

Unless you know the truth.

We do not have to turn over the keys to our present - or our future -simply because of a label we have worn in the past: the label of being a victim.

If you are living with the shame of what happened, it is similar to being forced to hide within a box. Jesus took the keys to that "victim" box and released us. He shattered the lock and ripped off the label. He gave us a new name. We are not victims; we are warriors. We are not defenseless; we are conquerors; We are not fearful; we are valiant.

There is a biblical case of sexual harassment in the workplace that can guide us. The roles are reversed, but the details are the same.Take some time to read Genesis 39. The entire story of Joseph reads like an epilogue in injustice, harassment, victimology and worse. Yet recurring in his life is a common thread: "...the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did...."

Enslaved, sexually harassed , unemployed, imprisoned and abandoned could have been Joseph's labels.

Yet...

It did not change that he had favor.

It did not change that he performed his job with excellence.

It did not change that he refused to bend to or live locked within those labels.

Joseph progressed from slavery to Vizier, the second most powerful man in the ancient world. He lived by this creed: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good...." Genesis 50:20.

Joseph demonstrates that bad things do happen to upright people. He also demonstrates that God works it out so that we win in the end. Isn't it time to peel off that "victim" label and walk in freedom?