Doing nothing can be good

Jesus had an answer: nothing. In this week's Gospel (John 8:1-11), a crowd of people wants to punish someone, and Jesus stops them from being mean -- and tells them not to do anything!

The people who didn't like Jesus tried to trick Him into saying something against the law. They brought a woman who was caught sinning and said, "The law says we should kill her. What do you think?" But Jesus just said, "Whoever has never sinned themselves should throw the first stone at her." The people felt ashamed and left. Jesus told the woman, "Go home, and don't sin any more."

The people in the Gospel story thought so. When they found a woman doing something really wrong, they were ready to punish her.

Jesus, though, doesn't think that way. He looked at the people and knew they all sinned sometimes, and they wouldn't want to be punished like they were trying to punish the woman. They just felt mean. That's why He reminded them that everyone sins.

When you feel like being mean, try Jesus' answer: Do nothing. Don't hit anybody or tell on them. You can always decide what to do later, when you don't feel angry -- but if you hurt somebody now, you can't take it back.

That was a hard lesson for the people Jesus met. But after they left the woman alone, Jesus forgave her sins, just like He forgives our mistakes. Jesus knew doing nothing is better than being mean!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, teach me to do nothing instead of hurting someone. Amen!