Realizing Dignity in False Accusation

           Dignity is measured by the extent of one’s ambitious possessions. In the previous blog, I stated that medical conditions seemingly rob one’s dignity; however his position as a child of the living God, seated in Christ with God in the heavenly realms enables him to realize his intrinsic dignity. He does not lose his dignity, even though Satan navigates him into the depths of suffering under the guise of lost dignity. Our tangible ambitious possessions are health, wealth, profession, education, and the likes; one can narrate several instances of abundance or absence of tangibles in varied intensities that entails a gain or loss of dignity.

False accusation is Satan’s assault on man’s character. Satan’s assault displays evil in varied degrees. This blog focuses on false accusations, for many are falsely accused and even imprisoned for uncommitted crimes.¹

False accusation is a common malady in school, home and work. A child can be falsely accused for reasons such as lack of effort in poor grades (though the child put in good effort) or theft (a co-student falsely accuses the child of stealing) or indiscipline (a child unjustly punished for another’s mischief). When punishment is rendered to a sinless offender, his/her character is assaulted and dignity abandons them. This is evil.

A specific instance of false accusation is when character is the primary ambition for some. One cannot blame a Christian for possessing and cultivating this ideal, for the Holy Bible shapes the character of a disciple towards being faultless and blameless.

If a Christian’s ambition is to live a holy life, then he will endeavor to be an honest worker. Imagine an honest Christian working in an organization for 20 years with an impeccable record. A reliable source levels a false allegation based on dubious circumstantial evidence claiming he stole a large sum of money. The fact is he did not steal. His superiors mandate him to plead guilty and submit a letter of apology for which they will forgive him. On the contrary, if he continues to maintain his innocence, he has to submit his resignation and leave the organization. He chooses the latter option for he is sinless within that context.

He is sinless and his integrity intact in God’s presence, but some doubt him for they refuse to believe in his innocence. When society doubts, it slanders. This affects the person concerned rather irreparably. Hence, his dignity plunges south and suffers immeasurably. This is a great evil.

            Put yourself in the brutally heartbreaking shoes of Mr. Niranjan Kumar Mandal. Recently Mr. Mandal appealed to the Supreme Court of India pleading for the restoration of his lost dignity. He was acquitted of rape after spending four terrible years in prison. Even though he is innocent, the society continues to reject him and his family after his acquittal. He said, "After the acquittal, I had great hope of getting back to the mainstream. But I gradually found that there was nothing to be happy about...Neighbours looked with suspicion and never allowed their children to mix with my children." ² This is an incredible burden to carry.

Mr. James Bain’s situation was even worse. In 2012, CNN reported, “James Bain is the longest-serving prisoner to be exonerated by DNA evidence, spending 35 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. He was convicted in 1974, at age 19, of kidnapping and raping a 9-year-old boy in Lake Wales, Florida.” ¹ This is a great evil.

            In the assault of man’s character, there is an accused and an accuser. The accuser generally holds a higher moral position, and the accused is relegated to a lower position.

The person who has been raped (victim & accuser) will be offered a higher moral ground. The rape would rob this person of dignity, but the outpouring of sympathetic support from the society would, to a measure, enable the person to realize his/her intrinsic dignity. However, the accused, in this case, will lose his dignity in the eyes of the society if he is a proven sinner. This is straightforward.

On the contrary, in Mr. Bain and Mr. Mandal’s context, we see a case of two damaged dignities –the brutally raped and the falsely accused. Both these precious people are innocent within this particular context. This is a great evil.

The horrendousness of evil intensifies when we examine the situation from the perspective of the one who leveled the false accusation. False accusations are intentional and unintentional. Intentional false accusation could be due to inherent corruption that deserves punishment.

The unintentional false accusation could be a result of a mental illness. This unintentional false accuser inflicts a colossal damage without realizing that he/she is being a cause of a horrendous evil. This is indeed a sad and a horrendous situation.

Researchers attribute this false accusation to “confabulation.” ³ Confabulation is considered ‘honest lying,’ for the person has no real intent to deceive. “At its simplest, people who confabulate provide information, or act based on information, that is obviously false. These people are genuinely unaware that the information is wrong,” states an article (emphasis mine).⁴

On the one hand, we pity the individual suffering from a mental illness. But on the other hand, this individual inflicts damage even without realizing it. What a horrendous evil!

Looking at the big picture we see the following situations:

1.      In the case of a false accusation, the “accused” loses his dignity in the eyes of the world for an uncommitted sin – this is a great evil.

2.      In the case of a mentally ill person making false accusations, both the “accuser” and the “accused” lose their dignity in the eyes of the world – this is horrendous evil.

What should we do to deal with false accusations?

Please view the two videos of James Bain ^{1 & 5}. His words are powerful, so I have captured much of his thoughts.

A Christian in the receiving end of a false accusation should know that this is a divine providence, not a random occurrence. Being sinless with reference to the accusation leveled, is mandatory. (Being sinful with reference to the accusation makes the accusation genuine, not false.) We may not know the reason behind our integration into this horrendous evil, but take heart that God has allowed this, so HE will deliver us at HIS time. Acceptance of the situation without anger and not rebelling against God is a healthy approach to endurance. Rebelling against God is always unfruitful.

Joseph was imprisoned because he was falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39). Prior to this incident, he was persecuted by his brothers. So adversity was Joseph’s middle name. But in due time (2+ years), God delivered Joseph from his suffering and elevated him. Because God delivered Joseph, we can be assured that HE will deliver HIS people at HIS time. As Joseph trusted God during his imprisonment, may we also trust in HIM and be patient for HIS deliverance.

Outside of Jesus Christ one cannot recover and realize his dignity. But we need not think that only those who believe in Christ will realize their intrinsic dignity, for the Almighty God’s common grace sustains all men (Cf. Romans 2:14-15; Hebrews 1:2-3; Matthew 5:45). The Bible clearly states that God is kind to both the ungrateful and the wicked (Luke 6:35, NIV). I submit that this common grace of God will sustain the one who still does not believe in Christ, but whose dignity is seemingly irreparably damaged in the eyes of the world.

Mr. James Bain's Video:

¹http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/21/more-than-2000-wrongfully-convicted-people-exonerated-in-23-years-researchers-say/

⁵http://floridainnocence.org/content/?page_id=1697#video_testimony

References:

¹http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/21/more-than-2000-wrongfully-convicted-people-exonerated-in-23-years-researchers-say/

²http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-03-11/india/37622494_1_diagnostic-centre-mayapuri-jail-term

³http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confabulation

⁴http://www.alzcompend.info/?p=293

⁵http://floridainnocence.org/content/?page_id=1697#video_testimony

For more information on Mr. Mandal: http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/18/a-conversation-with-former-tihar-inmate-niranjan-kumar-mandal/.

False Accusation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_accusation

Dignity Undamaged

Some suffer from mild physical anomalies such as obesity, short stature, baldness etc. Often our society shamefully compares them with their handsome and beautiful peers. Hence, those affected are besieged by an inferiority complex. To intensify their heartache, media accentuates external beauty in all its glory. This is an incredible burden. These children of the living God are pushed into oblivion because a well-designed body is appreciated as an object of beauty.

            A very short man is burdened when society ridicules him. His burden further intensifies when he fails to secure a job he so dearly desires (e.g. airline steward). He fails, since his short stature is rejected by the airline’s minimum height policy.  

The man’s short stature was designed by God. So, he cannot be blamed, but he still carries the burden of lost dignity. Similarly, people who are obese, highly freckled/acned, or with irregular teeth carry the burden of lost dignity.

            Dignity is a very powerful word. Dignity is self-worth, honor, or respect. The healthy and handsome are more dignified over the unhealthy and ugly. The intensity of deprivation of dignity ranges from mild to severe. The popular, powerful and prominent are more dignified in our society while their less illustrious peers are dumped into the dungeons of ignominy. The world glorifies people with greater dignity.

Sadly, there are more severe hereditary medical conditions such as Schizophrenia, familial Alzheimer’s etc. Those suffering through these severe conditions may not even understand the loss of dignity; however their immediate family would suffer the loss of it.

Here is my understanding of dignity in the form of a basic equation.

Dignity = Man × (nX)

where “X” is one or a combination of: health, wealth, education, vocation, beauty, power, popularity, prominence etc., and

“n” refers to numerals ranging from -10 to 10.

Greater dignity:  “n” = 1 to 10 (1 = average & 10 = superlative)

Lesser dignity:  “n” = 0 to -10 (0 = below average & -10 = invalid)

The dignity of man is directly proportional to “X.” The greater the “X,” the greater is his dignity (self-worth, honor, and respect). Man is highly dignified when he possesses a superlative “X.” When “X” takes a negative plunge, his dignity suffers. If we consider “health” as an example, then a very healthy man would possess greater dignity. On the other extreme, being an invalid with terminal disease would destroy his dignity. This is one facet of dignity.

The other facet of dignity is, when man scales greater heights, his self-dignity swells (he is proud of his achievements). Simultaneously, when he scales greater heights, the world recognizes, appreciates and awards him. Thus his outward dignity – in the eyes of men – swells as well.

Let us proceed to the theology of dignity. Man, able or disabled, is gifted with an intrinsic dignity for he is made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). However, mild or severe medical conditions seem to rob him of his intrinsic human dignity. The faulty design of man is attributed to the almighty God. It appears that God who gave man the intrinsic dignity also robs it from him because of his medical condition. Hence, it is imperative to learn the reason behind the apparently lost dignity from God’s perspective, and HIS plan for them to realize their intrinsic dignity.

First, why would God design a human being with medical conditions that apparently destroy the intrinsic human dignity? Dare I suggest two reasons!

1. For God’s glory: One can experience, enjoy and glorify God through prosperity and peril. Lazarus’ sickness was for the sake of God’s glory (John 11:4). Bible does not state that God should only be glorified through prosperity. A twice-orphaned Annie Johnston Flint glorified God through her poverty and terrible sickness, which made her totally dependent on nursing care. It was from her sick bed that she penned the wonderful hymn “He giveth more grace.” She enjoyed God’s grace during her utmost pain, and glorified God through her poems (Cf. 2 Corinthians12:8-10).

2. Because of Sin and Freewill: Ever since the fall (first sin) of Adam and Eve, mankind continues to reel under the burden of sin (Cf. Genesis 3; Romans 8:20-22). Sin and freewill are partners in crime. Smoking is injurious to health says the warning note on the cigarette pack. However, smokers ignore the warning and employ their freewill to smoke. If a pregnant woman smokes, her child is more likely to be born with birth defects, which God allows!

Would these two facts from the Bible answer the second question of how the victims of medical conditions realize their intrinsic dignity?

Fact #1: In Matthew chapter 1, some who figure in the lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ are undignified: Judah and Tamar no strangers to illicit sex (Genesis 38), the prostitute Rahab (Joshua 6:25), Ruth a Moabite – a race that originated from incest (Genesis 19:30-38), the adulterer King David (even emphasized as an adulterer through the mention of Uriah’s name in 1:6), King Rehoboam the megalomaniac (Matthew 1:7, Cf. 1 Kings 12:1-24)…Could not have God chosen a better lineage? HE could have also chosen a more dignified place for the Lord’s birth, but HE did not!

Fact #2: As if HIS undignified ancestors weren’t enough, the Lord associated himself with undignified people: the short tax collector Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10; tax collectors defrauded their own people, so were undignified, and to add to his plight, Zacchaeus was short), a Samaritan woman with loose morals (John 4:17-18); Christ was known to associate with undignified sinners (Luke 15:2). Significantly, our Lord HIMSELF was accused as an undignified glutton and a drunkard (Luke 7:34).

Understanding dignity from God’s perspective is vital. God does not view dignity as humans do. Christians do not acquire dignity from worldly prominence, power or popularity (Cf. 2 Corinthians 4:18). Please recollect the “X” from my equation of dignity. The “X” for a man is JESUS CHRIST or SIN. Sin separates man from God, resulting in his undignified separation from God. If he accepts Christ as his God and Savior, then the righteousness of Christ is upon the believer. The believer then finds his dignity from the one who offers him eternal life, and not just that, he is seated in Christ and with God in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6). What a gloriously dignified position! The Christian looks beyond the world, and into his God, for his dignity.

Our mediocre medical condition may degrade our body, but God, by virtue of our belief in Christ, raised us and seated us with HIM in the heavenly realms, unto eternity. Our body will perish, but our glorious position in Christ and with God will never fade or perish (Cf. 1 Peter 1:3-4). This glorious position enables a Christian to realize his intrinsic dignity.

Having said this, Satan is capable of inflicting a vicious attack into the heart of the Christian that can apparently shatter his dignity in the eyes of the world. Stay tuned to read more about this attack of Satan next week.

May God bless us all according to HIS will and pleasure. Amen.