IS IT A SIGN OF WEAKNESS TO FORGIVE?

As chief executive officer, I once had to decide on the case of a production worker (lets
call him Fidel) who under the companys policy and the Collective Bargaining Agreement
(CBA), was a candidate for dismissal. -ACTION
All cases of termination needed the final approval of the President, and so the matter was
elevated to me for final approval.
Following the due process rules, the mangers who had anything to do with the worker
found him guilty of the offense charged. The Union Officers, who were part of the review
process, agreed. It was just a simple matter of enforcing the rules penalizing stealing company
property. - UNIVERSALITY
Not really too simple, for Fidels offense was stealing cheap rags, those made of textile
remnants we see peddled in the streets. These retazos used for cleaning machines had been
secretly but wrongfully accumulated by Fidel who tried to spirit them out of the plant premises
one late afternoon. But the gate security guard caught him redhanded. Fidel confessed to the
theft.
Why did you do such a thing, I asked. -JUDGEMENT
He used the rags to wipe his aching back at home, he said. And that was all the
explanation I could get from him. He admitted it was wrong, clearly against the rules, and an act
he acknowledged was subject to dismissal.
Does your wife know about this. I inquired. Yes, he replied. What does she do? I asked.
Shes a public school teacher. What a big embarrassment to the family, I thought. And what
hardship, for they have children at school. If the man lost his job, he would be in dire economic
straits. I felt compassion for the man.
Would I exempt this guilty worker from the rules? Stealing of any company property was
made particularly a serious offense in the wake of many incidences of thievery in the plant
premises.
My managers, I knew, were watching what I would do. They had complained furtively
that my insistence on Christian love in the workplace appeared to cause a breakdown in
discipline. They thought I was always too forgiving, too Christian, which made workers take
more liberty with Company rules. And in this instance, I could almost hear them betting, that this
soft-hearted President, meaning me, would conveniently ignore the admission of guilt, forgive
the guilty one in Christian weakness, and forget the company rules.
I asked Fidel to put in writing what he really felt. He felt remorse. He acknowledged his
wrong. He would not do it again. He would accept whatever came his way. He would not contest
any verdict.
I then called for a meeting with all the plant managers and the Union officers who had
found the worker guilty. I asked Fidel to read his statement to the group. Then I declared, In the
exercise of my executive discretion, this worker is suspended without pay for three months, the
circumstances make the penalty of termination to harsh, even if the CBA rules say so.
Now, what I have done was in accordance with my obligation as business manager, but
we are not finished yet. This man is going to need to support his family. I pointed out.
As a Christian we have an obligation to help him out during his period of special need. I
therefore ask all of us here in this room to put in this box whatever you are led to contribute to
our fellow worker by way of Christian accommodation. I pulled out my wallet and put in a
selection of money bills. - FREEDOM

There was a surprise at my exhortation, but as I recall. In fact, by some urgings of the
Holy Spirit, I went back to the box and emptied my wallet. Fidel bowed his head in silence. And
everyone has no need to talk as the collection box went around the conference table.
Fidel returned to his job to become a good worker. More important, he was accepted back
by his co-worker.