So you’ve read the news about the “missionaries”/kidnappers in Haiti. If you haven’t…google it and then come back here. It’s not looking good for them getting out of Haiti any time soon. It’s starting to look like the leader of the team…Laura Silsby is really behind this entire disaster. Evidence is coming out now that she attempted to do things the right way…but in the end…broke the law. Apparently she passed out a flyer in Haiti…and all of it was a lie. She said they were a registered non-profit in the Dominican Republic(DR)….they weren’t. She said the kids were going to an orphanage in he DR….the orphanage told her they were not able to host the kids…it was illegal. She also said they had a website where people can follow the kids progress….doesn’t exist. This brings us a significant issue for missionaries all over the world….are we justified to lie in Jesus name?
I’ve worked in parts of the world where people exist on platforms because they can’t serve as missionaries. Many form non-profits in order to provide them a way to stay legally in the country. The concept of this sounds good…but most of the manifestations border on weak and even false. I know guys who say they’re farmers…but have never grown anything. I know people who say their non-profit does relief/development but they only do 1-2 small projects a year. Their mentality is “I occasionally do the non-profit work so I can focus on church planting the rest of the time.” My question is….if we tell a government we’re with a non-profit that does well drilling….and only drill one well a year….are we being honest?
This team lied to people….kidnapped children….and then blamed it on Satan and ask people to pray for their deliverance. Really….is this right? We’re supposed to be people of integrity….blameless in the world. I know many people actually treat their non-profit/NGO like a business and they work hard at it. But many that I’ve seen rarely do what they say they do…..
If we say one thing…and do another…are we being faithful or are we lying? Are we justified to lie in Jesus name?
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Good question. My answer is we aren’t. If God calls us somewhere, He will open a door for us. This group consciously messed up, Satan didn’t have to do anything. And those other missionaries… I think they are wrong… this kind of behavior isn’t for God’s glory.
I think you’re only allowed to lie when asked to check a box next to something like “I promise I will not consume alcohol while in such and such place with such and such organization” knowing that you are going to anyways
I love the question, and sad it needs to be asked. Why do we think we can say our plans as if they’ve come to be, and not follow the rules. As a Canadian, my first thought would be “it’s American arrogance”, but I know the church too well.
I know stories of missionaries running over someone with the car and then fleeing the country because “they wouldn’t get a fair trial”. When are we going to learn?
Now there is a time in an unjust society that the just should be in prison. But if you know you’re breaking the rules, fess up, confess, and be prepared to do the time.
I think this is a sad reality that many missionaries feel justified in. I often wonder what kind of testimony do we have if….
We enter a country on a platform (that we don’t really do).
We share Jesus with someone.
They respond.
We disciple them.
They find out that we’re actually missionaries….not well-drillers, farmers.
Do they ever ask….”If they lied to me about their job, maybe they lied to me about their faith?”
Re: The situation in Haiti, unfortunately I am not surprised that something like this has happened atleast once, and probably more times that haven’t been reported. I don’t believe the Bible ever permits us to lie for ministry purposes.
That said I can also say that having to form a non-profit or other such NGO can also be looked at as either a necessary evil or as an opportunity to contribute to the local community through the operations of that organisation. To simply use it as a “cover” is unacceptable but if you genuinely contribute to community in real ways that the local government can see, many times you will gain tacit approval if not outright support.
“She attempted to do things the right way”? What about what she did was the right way? There seems to be a growing mentality among Christians today that “the ends justify the means”. We do see some of that in the OT. But God blessed them in spite of that, not because of it. Satan may have had something to do with what happened to them in Haiti, but it was in the their planning and lying, not when they got caught. And I don’t know how I feel about that “necessary evil” concept. I think that’s a slippery slope. Isn’t all that just about us wanting to do it all our own way and not submitting to and relying on God to dirct us and make a way for us?
This 9Marks article would be good to read: “Lying, Hostile Nations and the Great Commission”
http://www.9marks.org/CC/article/0,,PTID314526_CHID598016_CIID2482414,00.html
Are we justified to lie in Jesus name? A good, hard question. I must say that we are not and never allowed to lie specially in Jesus name. The missionaries have good intention about helping the needy, most are kids. She attempted to do the right way, but its not the way that jesus christ wants.In our seminary we do have some protocols or rules that is a must for us to follow, lying is a sin, so why do you have to do it, right?
Are we justified to lie in Jesus name? A good, hard question. I must say that we are not and never allowed to lie specially in Jesus name. The missionaries have good intention about helping the needy, most are kids. She attempted to do the right way, but its not the way that jesus christ wants.In our seminary we do have some protocols or rules that is a must for us to follow, lying is a sin, so why do you have to do it, right?