Violation or Appreciation? Your Choice.

Once again, the age old question has arisen: Does the end justify the means? If your intentions are noble and only good can result from your behavior, does that in and of itself give you the freedom to behave according to your own prescription? I suspect that most of us, in abject honesty, would say yes depending upon the circumstances. And yet, I have to wonder a little about this, for there is something suspicious about making our own ethical decisions, in deciding right from wrong and forcing others to share our view of virtue, in governing our own behavior based upon our own selfish, albeit honorable, concepts, and imprisoning our fellow man to see those concepts the way we do. So the question is more how do we determine right from wrong, moral from immoral, and is our mode of behavior a personal choice or should we consider a broader more collective view of ethical purity, and with this broad view, how do we then insure that others share in our perceived truth of values? At what point is your freedom another person's straitjacket? I will let you decide!

I received the jury duty notice, placed the date on my calendar, planned accordingly, gave some thought to my personal time schedule, and wondered somewhat idly who was on trial and for what purpose. The morning of my duty, I went through my usual routine of prayers, exercise, choosing clothing for the day (usually an easy decision), got in my truck, drove to the coffee shop, drank some coffee, and headed to the courthouse to fulfill my civic responsibility. I arrived on time and stood in an extended line of fellow prospective jurors, eventually entering the courtroom to await the arrival of the judge, who would begin the process of selecting a jury for the upcoming court case.

I was dismissed early in the process for a legitimate reason, made my way out of the courtroom, down the stairs, and out to the truck where I drove to my office as though the day had begun anew. I entered the building to my office, routinely put my hand in my right pocket to make sure the pen I had placed there earlier was still there, and was surprised to find an additional item in my pocket that had not been there before.

I pulled out a small booklet with a happy face on the cover. This booklet was tiny, pleasant in appearance, contained several pages of text, and seemed overall benign. Glancing through the pages, I quickly recognized several Biblical scriptures and some words of salvation and inspiration. I smiled, returned the book to the pocket, and went to my office, comforted by the knowledge that someone, most likely while standing in the line to enter the courtroom, cared enough about me to give me the booklet; someone wanted me to read these scriptures, and someone zealously and actively desired to spread the news about Jesus Christ.

But as the day continued, I began to wonder about the ethics of placing a book in the pocket of stranger. What if the book had contained anthrax or subversive language such as terrorist activity or pornography or a threat of some kind, or perhaps a statement of blackmail or a hostage situation or a tip of an impending crime? Or maybe the sweet little booklet may have contained some quotes from Aristotle or Goethe or Benjamin Franklin or maybe some heart warming stories about a dog or a pony, or perhaps the little book simply had blank pages for taking notes or giving one an opportunity for self-expression? Or perhaps the book with the happy face contained a small mirror for self-actualization and affirmation? Instead, the book contained words of religious inspiration with the intent of helping a person find Christ.

Please understand, I am not against evangelism and I do believe if more of the world believed in God and led a Christ-like life, this would be a better place, a place where more people would be contributing, positive citizens without the myriad immoral decisions made each day by so many. I believe that we need God and that we, as weak humans, often substitute God with addictions and poor behavior. Yet, somehow I resent the fact that a person I do not know felt free to slip something in my pocket without my knowledge, without any notification, and without knowing anything about me, my world-view, my value system, my personality, my profession, or even my name!

What gave said person the right to violate my privacy? Should I be upset or should I accept the honorable intentions? Although a part of me is happy to see a servant of God working hard to share the news of Christ, most of me would prefer that my personal space and private property be respected. Next time, please ask me. So back to the original question: Did the end justify the means? Should I react in appreciation or should I focus on the violation? Your turn to comment!