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The reason I lied to the men is simply because I had no idea who in the world they were. (I suppose in hindsight I could have asked them before giving an answer, but I didn't think about that at the time.) The men were nicely dressed and carrying briefcases. They could have been Mormons, but I doubt it because Mormons usually wear white shirts while out proselytizing. Maybe they were Jehovah's Witnesses, I don't know. But the thing is, why would they ask if there was anyone in the neighborhood who spoke Spanish? Do Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses have members who specifically seek out Spanish-speaking people while proselytizing?
yes. there are even jw's that specifically seek out the deaf, and even deaf hispanics. i know jw's that know spanish, french, american sign language, honduran sign language, and costa rican sign language, and they all do research to seek out people who speak those languages specifically.
to be honest, if they were jw's, i'm surprised they didn't already have the street address, first name, last name, and background information of the people they were seeking already. lol. the jw's here will show up at your door knowing all of that about you already, especially if you're part of a smaller community like the mexican community or deaf community (where stalking you becomes considerably easier).
Want your input about a situation that happened this morning.
I live in a neighborhood in which there are some Hispanic families...one family lives right behind me, another lives a couple of doors up from me, and there are several others. Obviously, the members of these families speak Spanish. This morning there were two Hispanic men who knocked on my door and asked, in very good English, if I knew if there was anyone in the neighborhood who spoke Spanish.
I said "I don't know". Obviously that was a lie, because I do know.
The men thanked me, then walked across the street and asked my neighbor. He walked outside, proceeded to go out onto the street and pointed out the homes of my Hispanic neighbors.
The reason I lied to the men is simply because I had no idea who in the world they were. (I suppose in hindsight I could have asked them before giving an answer, but I didn't think about that at the time.) The men were nicely dressed and carrying briefcases. They could have been Mormons, but I doubt it because Mormons usually wear white shirts while out proselytizing. Maybe they were Jehovah's Witnesses, I don't know. But the thing is, why would they ask if there was anyone in the neighborhood who spoke Spanish? Do Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses have members who specifically seek out Spanish-speaking people while proselytizing?
So what do you think? Was it a good thing for me to lie to those men? My general thinking at the time was that I didn't want to possibly endanger the lives of my Spanish-speaking neighbors. Who knows what those two men may have been up to. They could have been looking for someone specific in order to carry out some sort of vendetta, for all I know. I wouldn't have felt right leading them to their victim.
What would you have done?
I give people I don't know very little information if I have no idea what they are up to when asking. You could ask them, but what says they would tell the truth as well.
Don't sweat it, don't over think this, your intent was simply dealing with the unknown and you did your best considering the situation.
The only reason this could possibly be an issue for you is if you think they deserved an answer . . . no matter what. All sorts of people ask all sorts of questions without any entitlement to an answer. If you try to live your life by answering everyone's questions truthfully . . . you will have a miserable existence. The "do not bear false witness" referred to is the serious kind . . . that might be before a legal tribunal or some other instance when you are falsely providing information about another that will result in some consequence to that other. Your best option with the majority of busy body stranger questions is always not to answer, period. But if pressed for an answer that they have no entitlement to (or you do not wish to share) . . . there is no requirement for you to concern yourself with its accuracy.
Want your input about a situation that happened this morning.
I live in a neighborhood in which there are some Hispanic families...one family lives right behind me, another lives a couple of doors up from me, and there are several others. Obviously, the members of these families speak Spanish. This morning there were two Hispanic men who knocked on my door and asked, in very good English, if I knew if there was anyone in the neighborhood who spoke Spanish.
I said "I don't know". Obviously that was a lie, because I do know.
The men thanked me, then walked across the street and asked my neighbor. He walked outside, proceeded to go out onto the street and pointed out the homes of my Hispanic neighbors.
The reason I lied to the men is simply because I had no idea who in the world they were. (I suppose in hindsight I could have asked them before giving an answer, but I didn't think about that at the time.) The men were nicely dressed and carrying briefcases. They could have been Mormons, but I doubt it because Mormons usually wear white shirts while out proselytizing. Maybe they were Jehovah's Witnesses, I don't know. But the thing is, why would they ask if there was anyone in the neighborhood who spoke Spanish? Do Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses have members who specifically seek out Spanish-speaking people while proselytizing?
So what do you think? Was it a good thing for me to lie to those men? My general thinking at the time was that I didn't want to possibly endanger the lives of my Spanish-speaking neighbors. Who knows what those two men may have been up to. They could have been looking for someone specific in order to carry out some sort of vendetta, for all I know. I wouldn't have felt right leading them to their victim.
What would you have done?
There wasn't anything wrong with what you did....remember God allegedly looks at the heart and intentions of a person....what you did, you did with good intentions. So....quit worrying about what other people think and just live the life that is right for you...you obviously already know in your heart that you made the right decision.
There wasn't anything wrong with what you did....remember God allegedly looks at the heart and intentions of a person....what you did, you did with good intentions. So....quit worrying about what other people think and just live the life that is right for you...you obviously already know in your heart that you made the right decision.
Rahab lied to protect the spies and God spared her for it. Joshua 6:25 ,
If you know your neighbors good enough, explain the situation and your reasoning to them. I'm sure they would appreciate your concern for their safety and the visitors ( if they were there on honest terms) would be happy to know that their Hispanic friends have neighbors who care.
Years ago my pastor said something and it always stuck with me. He said something along the lines of "God does not want you to sin so that you can do something right." I think that applies here. God does not want you to lie so that you can potentially help your Spanish speaking neighbors. God is Holy and never asks us to sin so I don't see why he would approve of it here. Anyway, what you did was in the past so don't sweat over it. If a similar situation happened again, I would say something like "I'm sorry, but that's not my business to say."
Last edited by CantWait2Leave; 09-15-2010 at 12:57 PM..
Years ago my pastor said something and it always stuck with me. He said, something along the lines of "God does not want you to sin so that you can do something right." I think that applies here. God does not want you to lie so that you can potentially help your Spanish speaking neighbors. God is Holy and never asks us to sin so I don't see why he would approve of it here. Anyway, what you did was in the past so don't sweat over it. If a similar situation happened again, I would say something like "I'm sorry, but that's not my business to say."
When someone asks you if you like thier new haircut or if they look heavy - and you don't like their new haircut or they do look heavy - do you tell them the truth?
Personally - I think it's perfectly fine to lie about certain things. Life is not black and white. I think someone brought this up before - if you were hiding Jews during WWII - would it be better to lie about it or tell the Nazis the truth? I'm not saying you should lie willy nilly - but use your head! God gave us brains for a reason! So we could use them!
Most of us want desparately to be nice, and that is a very good thing. It has amazed me over the last couple years how many ways the Bible does, indeed, say, "BE NICE!" It is commanded!
However! There are times when someone is persistent in wanting to know things that they have no business knowing -- thing about you personally, things about neighbors, things about friends, things about coworkers, things about acquanintances. Sometimes their persistence is evidenced by their continual one-time prodding or their constant returning with questions. That is when we have to understand where our "be nice" stuff should be concentrated. And it should not be toward the nosy one!
It is all right sometimes to be blunt and say, "That is none of your business."
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