Daniel (Greek) 13:22-27: a reflection

22Then Susanna sighed, and said, “I am trapped; for if I do this thing, it is death to me. If I don’t do it, I can’t escape your hands. 23It is better for me to fall into your hands, and not do it, than to sin in the sight of the Lord.” 24With that Susanna cried with a loud voice; and the two elders cried out against her. 25Then one of them ran and opened the garden doors. 26So when the servants of the house heard the cry in the garden, they rushed in at the side door to see what had happened to her. 27But when the elders had told their tale, the servants were greatly ashamed; for there was never such a report made of Susanna.

In this account, Susanna, a godly woman, is trapped by two corrupt elders who threaten to ruin her with false accusations unless she gives in to their sinful demand. She faces an agonizing choice: to sin in order to escape their threat, or to refuse and suffer the consequences of their lies. And she chooses rightly, saying, It is better for me to fall into your hands and not do it, than to sin in the sight of the Lord. She would rather suffer unjustly than sin against God.

Notice the clarity of Susanna's choice. She was cornered, threatened with ruin, and could have escaped by giving in; but she refused, choosing to risk unjust suffering rather than commit sin. Her deepest concern was not to escape harm, but not to sin against God; and so, faced with the choice between sinning to save herself and suffering to keep her integrity, she chose integrity. She would rather fall into human hands than sin in God's sight.

That is a resolve worth having. There are times when we are cornered, when doing right seems to promise suffering, and sinning seems to offer escape; when it would be easier to compromise, to give in, to do the wrong thing to avoid trouble. But Susanna shows us a better way: to hold to integrity even when it costs us, to refuse to sin even to escape harm. When you are pressured to do wrong to avoid some cost, remember Susanna's resolve: better to suffer than to sin against God. Choose integrity over safety; do not buy your escape at the price of sin. It is better to fall into difficulty doing right than to sin your way out of it; hold to what is right, whatever it costs.

Lord, when Susanna was trapped and threatened with ruin unless she gave in to a sinful demand, she chose to risk unjust suffering rather than sin, saying it was better to fall into their hands than to sin in your sight. Give me that resolve. There are times when I am cornered, when doing right seems to promise suffering, and sinning seems to offer escape; when it would be easier to compromise, to give in, to do wrong to avoid trouble. But Susanna shows me a better way: to hold to integrity even when it costs me, to refuse to sin even to escape harm. When I am pressured to do wrong to avoid some cost, help me remember her resolve: better to suffer than to sin against you. Help me choose integrity over safety, and not buy my escape at the price of sin. It is better to fall into difficulty doing right than to sin my way out of it; help me hold to what is right, whatever it costs.