Perhaps Silence Really Is Golden (Blog #21)

Have you ever found yourself an eyewitness observer to a situation that you were sure someone else should know about but decided it was easier not to say anything? Or have you ever decided that you would take the initiative and report a situation to a governmental agency and were, in reality, blown off by the agency which "should have cared" about the information you were giving them? Personally, I have found myself in both situations during the course of life.

In the first situation, choosing not to get involved or be concerned about something you know is wrong comes with a personal price tag. Unless someone has no conscience at all, there is bound to be a certain level of guilt that accompanies a decision to remain silent. Such guilt may be rationalized and minimized by telling yourself things like "no one is really getting hurt" or "there really should be more oversight for those programs" or "it really is none of my business".

More often than not, however, I found myself in the second more frustrating situation. It is extremely frustrating to know that when you act upon a decision to be pro-active that you may become more frustrated. How is it possible that we live in a world that would turn a blind eye to fraud as long as no one is being hurt? This is only the latest in a litany of situations which have come to my attention over the course of the years, in ministry and beyond. It amazes me that in a supposedly conservative, "Christian" environment where there is so much concern about preserving the family, values and limiting the rights of some citizens that it is so easy to turn a blind eye to all the other things going on around them.

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." [Matthew 7:3-5 NIV] Maybe when those seeking to protect family values and the traditional family get the planks out of their eyes, they will see the decay that really needs to be addressed. Until then, silence will prove to be "golden" for some people.

~ DB Turnmire