At my current workplace, no one has yet brought up the subject of my health status. No one has ever asked me if I’m vaccinated or not–and I intend to keep it private, just like my weight, personal hygiene practices and sleep habits.
Would it be beneficial for my employer to know? I’m only a substitute teacher, but they offer me work every day. It’s possible–I might accidentally crush a small child in the classroom if I sat on them. I might spread disease by simply neglecting to wash my hands.
I’m all for being honest–and to the best of my ability I will create a safe, productive place to learn at school. It is maturity that guides my thinking about when, where, why, and how I should divulge my personal choices and values.
It is an honor system. My employer doesn’t know and doesn’t ask certain things, so we maintain peace and I keep my job.
I’m still employed because I’m a responsible, stable, qualified adult who knows how to appropriately manage children.
The situation I’m privileged to be in–where privacy is honored and personal responsibility is personal– is becoming less common.
The Supreme Court is now in session, debating whether employers have the right to mandate vaccines for their workers. Perhaps they will vote in favor of individual rights, and perhaps they will agree with the president that workers should be fined and punished for not following mandates–but history in the long term rarely favors individual rights. Ask folks from China, Germany, Russia, Afghanistan, Cuba, Argentina…the list is a long one. Ask anyone who has fled a country for reasons of persecution. A person’s individual rights don’t typically stand a chance when power is at stake.
The question today is not if, but when we must begin tossing our metaphorical babies into rivers. Our American life is rapidly becoming less about individual freedoms and more about greasing squeaky wheels. Matters of conscience have become open to interpretation, and therefore personal decisions now fall prey to what is deemed “public safety”. It’s the whole idea of “for the greater good” while ignoring the consequences of tossing babies out with the bathwater. Can the babies cry for help? Should we listen to them anyway if it’s not a matter of their personal freedom but for a greater good?
“What’s the worst that can happen?” is one reaction to this dilemma, a question of procrastination at best. Inch by inch we are beginning to see exactly what it entails. We could list all the possible scenarios, anticipating the worst–but that’s an exercise in misery.
It’s a relief to read about a situation where the worst actually happened–and hope was there, waiting.
Have you heard of Jochebed? The mother of Moses was put in a hard spot when the king of the land declared the Israelite race to be inferior and too many. Is it too much to ask if we eliminate this problematic population boom?— he asked himself. A mandate went out: throw your Hebrew boy babies in the river Nile. Here it was, the worst thing that could happen.
Let’s take a look at what Jochebed did.
When she saw that (Moses) was a fine child, she hid him for three months. (Ex.2:2)
Jochebed did not immediately line up at the river to dispose of their baby. She kept him hidden from the executive order as long as possible–to keep him alive, yes, but also to make a plan.
…when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. (Ex.2:3-4)
Did the mother of Moses give in to the harsh order of the king? Rather, she declared fearlessness in the face of the impossible, made a DIY waterproof basket, and had her daughter keep an eye on where it was headed.
Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. (Ex.2:5-6)
Was it any accident Moses’ basket ended up in the same spot of the river where Pharaoh’s daughter bathed? I think not. Jochebed pushed that basket toward a very specific destination at a very specific time. She likely timed it so Moses would be hungry enough to cry out just as the basket entered the bathing area. She appealed to the humanity of a person with authority–a woman who had the power and instinct to do something with a crying baby in a basket.
Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
“Yes, go,” she answered. And the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” (Ex.2:7-9)
Miriam, Moses’ sister was tasked with anticipating any need baby Moses had, and she spoke up in a situation that was likely intimidating. What a brave big sister! And look how it turned out–Moses’ mother, formerly a slave, now had a paying job to nurse her own baby!
Here are three things we can do when enforced federal mandates feel a bit like asking us to toss babies in the river:
1–Make a plan. Did Jochebed follow the mandate? In a way she did. She put the baby in the river as required. But could she have lived with herself if she’d let her baby drown in the water? I think not. Jochebed took time to review her options and form a plan she could live with–she looked for the best possible outcome under the worst of circumstances.
Where does your conscience allow you to make concessions? Where does it draw a line?
2–Stand fearless in the impossible. In putting Moses in the basket, Jochebed was humbly accepting the fate of not being able to raise him the way she wanted to, but trusting God to fully handle Moses’ future. Do you know He can handle your future for your good? Do you know He is interested in the impossible?
3–Look for the humanity in a hopeless situation. Jochebed was not sending good vibes out into the world and praying for good karma. She and Miriam made intentional, human contact, appealing to the daughter of the king. Miriam very practically offered the service of a nursemaid for the infant which turned into a paying job for Moses’ mother (so cool!).
Are you continuing to seek the humanity in people around you? Are you making genuine connections with others? Can you be an unlikely ally?
Let’s not forget who Moses grew up to be!
If there is hope for giants to be born from certain-death circumstances, we have plenty of hope indeed.
