Is It Ever Right To Do Wrong To Do Right?

Exodus 1:15-21: "The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 'When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.' The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, 'Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?' The midwives answered Pharaoh, 'Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.' So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own."


Is it ever right to do wrong to do right? It certainly seems that way in the passage mentioned above. The Egyptian king had ordered that the Hebrew midwives kill all newborn boys, in order that the Hebraic slave population might be kept in check. Although these midwives were in dangerous peril for disobeying the edict of the king, they determined not to execute his command. These women feared the Lord and likely knew of His covenant commitment to their patriarch, Abraham, promising the blessing of many descendants. When the king found out that these midwives did not obey his command, he summoned them and asked why they had not followed orders. In reply, these midwives shared that the Hebrew women were "vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive." This may very well be a truth statement, as the Lord was blessing the Israelites with many children, and consequently the midwives were unable to get around to every birth taking place. Still, one may surmise that these midwives were not being completely truthful with the king. Could it be that these women were trying to give reasonable excuse in order that they might not abide by the decree of the Egyptian king? If anything, we find that the Lord was pleased with how they handled the situation and subsequently blessed them with families of their own.


This example brings to mind the example of Nazi Germany during the World War II era. I specifically am reminded of Corrie Ten Boom, who with her family in the Netherlands provided a Hiding Place for Jews attempting to avoid capture by the Gestapo. When these Nazi police would visit the home to investigate the harboring of Jews, Corrie and her family would deny that any Jews were being kept there. Sadly, Corrie and her family in 1944 would be taken to concentration camps in the Netherlands and Germany. Corrie's father would die just 10 days after arriving at his camp, and Corrie's sister would perish just a few weeks prior to Corrie's release in December, 1944. Interestingly (or should we say Providentially), Corrie was released due to a clerical error at the camp. One week after her release, all of the women in her barracks were executed.

In Corrie's example mentioned above, we find that she and her family intentionally refused the truth to the authorities, because such information would have led to the death of a number of Jewish people being harbored there. We can see that the telling of a lie in this instance is morally preferable to telling the truth, due to the devastating consequences. As we reflect upon the Biblical story or the story of Corrie Ten Boom mentioned above, we must not quickly impute culpability to those who are forced to make such decisions under duress. There is a hierarchy of values that must be considered; and in both instances, the value of life supersedes the importance of telling the truth. The sin is not to be ascribed to those who are forced to tell a lie, but to those who would force others into such perilous decisions.

Therefore, there are those rare instances in which it may be right to do wrong to do right. The context of the situation, filtered through the commands of the Lord as observed in the Holy Scriptures will be the key. Caution, however, is in order here. These examples mentioned above are anomalous and cannot be used to exonerate inappropriate behavior in a majority of cases.