Dr. Mary C. McDonald
My father had a paperweight on his desk that he always referred to as, “an important reminder”. It was a stone, about the size of his fist, one side of which was imbedded into a polished block of wood. The brass plate on the front of the wooden base read, ‘The First Stone’. When I was a child I thought that stone was actually one of the stones that was picked up by the angry of witnesses mentioned in the Bible who brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus so the He too could condemn her and join in her punishment of being stoned to death. Jesus knew their hearts, their motives, and their own deeds, and instead, challenged them and said, “I anyone of you is without sin, let him cast the first stone” (John 8: 6-8). It was not one of those stone they dropped as they left Jesus and the woman, but for my father, it was an important reminder.
Twenty-eight years ago, when I became a school principal for the first time, my father gave the First Stone paperweight to me. He said that often, when you are in a position of authority, two types of people will come to talk to you; those who want to share their visions, plans, and ways of doing things that will lift the people you serve, and those who just want to gossip, belittle, or find fault with others. Listen to the former, and offer the latter ones the “First Stone”. I have always been grateful for the gift, his wise counsel, and the important reminder that I still have in my office. I carry the mental picture of the impact of that reminder with me when I talk with others so that I will focus on ideas, not others.
This symbolic reminder on my desk is not just for people in positions of authority, it is for everyone. At some point in your life, you may be surrounded by a crowd of witnesses, at home, at church, at the marketplaces and workplaces of your life. Accusations against you, true or not, may actually be mean-spirited shields that deflect the faults and transgressions of those in the crowd. Trust Jesus for the answer in the situation. Only He can save. At some point in your life, you may be in the crowd of witnesses that condemns, gossips, or maligns another, blurring the line of truth and lie. You may be tempted to participate in the type of behavior that manipulates the thoughts of others to serve a self-promoting need. Seek Jesus in the crowd, and put down the stone. When you wound, you are wounded. When you heal, you are healed. When you lift up another person, you are lifted up. We are all tethered, one to another, by God’s love.
I am always looking for the wisdom behind the important reminder of the First Stone. And when wisdom appears, the reality is seen. Peace comes not from throwing the First Stone, but from dropping it, and from living in the courage of letting it go.
