[Jesus] straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” (John 8:7 The Message)

This scripture comes from an interesting confrontation between the religious scholars and Jesus. Jesus is teaching in the Temple, and some scholars and Pharisees bring over a woman caught in adultery. One hopes that they let her get dressed before taking her to the Temple, but they were so intent on getting something on Jesus that they may have just plucked her out of bed.

Needing an audience, they find a clear space in the midst of the crowd and ask Jesus what they should do with her. The law of Moses clearly stated that people caught in adultery should be stoned. (One wonders how many men were stoned when caught in an adulterous situation.)

Jesus started writing in the dust, but the religious leaders kept hounding him for an answer. This was his reply, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.”

What a surprise for everyone. Jesus puts the responsibility for action right where it belongs – on the people who are wanting something done. He throws in an extra power punch, however, when he tells the sinless one to go first. Everyone in that group knew the secrets of the others. People who work together learn a lot about each other. They know who is hiding bags of candy in their desks, who chronically comes to work late and leaves early, and who has whispered conversations on the telephone at odd hours of the day. If they claimed to be sinless, these sharks of the Temple would go after them, and they might receive the same punishment they were wanting for the woman. As long as the leaders were standing shoulder to shoulder, accusing someone else, they were safe. If one of them broke ranks, however, to throw the first stone, he might be eaten alive. 

Consequently, they quietly slunk away back to their offices.

This same situation happens a lot in today’s world. Someone comes up with an invention or a new process that is bound to revolutionize the world; but those in power are afraid of losing their power so they diminish the importance of the new.  

We’re all a little scared of competition. What if we are really not as great as we’d like people to think? What if, like the Wizard of Oz, people see the reality behind the smoke and mirrors and no longer pay attention to what we have to say?

Sadly, competition can help – whether it’s helping us individually or our businesses. If we can find ways to engage the competition so that, rather than stabbing each other in the back (or stoning them) we can work together, we can increase our resources and build a firmer foundation. Friendly competition brings notice to everyone involved. If someone is more concerned about drowning the competition, they can become scary and everyone loses. It’s something to think about!

Becky Gillette is a former teacher, newspaper reporter, and preacher who seeks to take an original approach to life’s lessons. She has recently published her first book, Jessie’s Corner: Something To Think About, which is now available for purchase. Based on several lesser-known scriptures from the Bible, this is a collection of articles which she wrote for a weekly newspaper.