Let Down | Doing the Right Thing

Joseph her husband was a righteous man. Because he didn't want to humiliate her, he decided to call off their engagement quietly. (Matthew 1:19 CEB)

Let's talk about what Joseph did when he found out Mary was pregnant. He could have made a scene. According to the law, he could have had Mary put on trial. In the most extreme interpretation of the law, she could have been executed for adultery. At the very least, Joseph could have publicly humiliated her, made sure everyone in town knew what she'd done, and walked away with his reputation intact.

But he didn't do that. Instead, Matthew tells us that Joseph was a righteous man, and because of that, he decided to call off the engagement quietly. He was going to let Mary go without dragging her name through the mud. He was going to protect her reputation even though she'd broken his heart.

That's remarkable. That's the kind of character we should all aspire to. Even in his pain, even in his betrayal, Joseph did the right thing. But doing the right thing cost Joseph everything.

You see, when you called off an engagement in ancient Israel, the man still had to pay the bridal price he'd agreed to pay to the woman's father. So even though Mary was the one who (as far as Joseph knew) had done something wrong, Joseph was going to have to pay the price.

And Joseph wasn't a wealthy man. He was a carpenter. Which means that after he paid the bridal price, he probably wouldn't have enough money to pay another one. So he probably wouldn't be able to get married, and all his dreams of having a wife and a family were over.

Joseph was about to sacrifice his entire future because he wanted to do the right thing. He was going to walk away from everything he'd hoped for because he didn't want to hurt Mary any more than she'd already been hurt.

That's what righteousness sometimes costs us. That's what doing the right thing sometimes requires. It's lonely. It's painful. It's expensive.

We see the same thing happen to people all the time. The person who tells the truth, even though it costs them their job. The person who walks away from a relationship that's unhealthy, even though it means being alone. The person who stands up for what's right, even though it means losing friends. The person who maintains their integrity, even though it means missing out on opportunities.

Doing the right thing isn't always rewarded. Sometimes it's punished. Sometimes it costs us everything. Sometimes it leaves us feeling completely alone.

But here's what Joseph's story teaches us: God sees. God knows. And God doesn't abandon people who do the right thing, even when it costs them everything.

Joseph was about to give up his entire future to protect Mary. And God was about to give Joseph something even better than the future he'd imagined. But Joseph didn't know that yet. In that moment, all Joseph knew was that he was doing the right thing, even though it was going to leave him alone.

If that's where you are right now – if you've done the right thing and it's cost you more than you thought it would, if you feel alone because you chose integrity over comfort – I want you to know that God sees you. Your righteousness matters. Your character matters. And even though you can't see it yet, God is going to honor your faithfulness.

Closing Prayer:

God, sometimes doing the right thing costs us more than we want to pay. Sometimes it leaves us feeling alone and wondering if anyone even notices or cares. But you see. You know. Help us to trust that our integrity matters to you, even when it seems to cost us everything. Give us the strength to keep doing what's right, even when it's hard. Amen.