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Some Americans, who were in Haiti out of their Christian convictions, now find themselves facing kidnapping charges. They were found spiriting a group of children from a Haitian village into the Dominican Republic. They say they were taking the children to an orphanage for their safety and care. One news reporter this morning asked, “Where they misguided do-gooders or was there something more sinister going on?” Much has been added to the story about child trafficking.
I always find it challenging when listening to the news reports to sift through the media hype that makes for a good story while discerning the truth in the report. I am sure these Baptists were, in their minds “doing good”. They found themselves in an horrific situation where poverty is rampant and the tragedy of the earthquake heightened the dire conditions. Did they really think these children were orphans? Did the parents ask them to take the children to a safer place? The answers to these questions might never be satisfactorily answered. Should they have taken these children? Probably not; but I suspect they were doing what they thought was right at the time.
That is the challenge of making decisions when we try to make them from an ethical position. We weigh the various pros and cons and then take action. More often than not I think we do what we do from a position of hope rather than certainty. We hope it is the right thing to do. But even with careful thought and prayer it is not always crystal clear what is the right course of action.
I am disappointed that this story once again puts Christians in a bad light as far as the media is concerned. It seems the only time we get news coverage is when we have done something wrong. This incident will give cynics and critics fresh ammunition for all that Christians do wrong. Meanwhile many fine Christians have quietly gone about doing valiant work to assist those that have been effected by the devastation in Haiti. Once in a while a good news story about what we do right would be refreshing don’t you think?
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