Recently a very good friend was put into this very predicament. His job required him to be in charge of a fundraising tournament for his work. While planning the event, he read up on how to run such an event and what you can and can't do with a liquor licence.
In the meantime he had approached some of the sponsors that were at the event last year, who happened to be a beer company and the year before they were giving away samples at the event. They wanted to do the same thing this year and my friend thought nothing of it until he read the state's liquor licence. This event has been going for years and every year companies give out samples of their goods including alcoholic beverages to the participants. This is no different to what they had done in the past few years.
The only difference is that my friend had been put in charge this year and he had taken the time to inform himself about the licensing rules and found out that what they had done in the past was actually illegal and if they continued to do it they would be breaking the law.
By being in charge he has to sign a contract which states some of the liquor issues. The hard thing is that most of the other companies that run these types of fundraising events do the same thing, with or without knowledge of the law.
As I thought about this situation, I started to wonder what I would have done.
Would I have:
• Raised the red flags and told the team and my supervisor about the issue and informed them that I cannot sign off on something that is breaking the law? OR
• Would I have carried on and pretend I didn't see the terms because no one in past years has said anything about it and most other fundraising tournaments do it that way anyway? Everyone else is doing it and people will think I am weird for bringing it up.
• Would I worry more about my own future with the company or with what God would say to me, having to live with the decision I knew was illegal (even if I didn't get caught)?
To be honest the best sounding option was to keep going with status quo and not tell anyone. If everyone else is running their tournaments like this it can't be that bad and it must be the law that is wrong and needs to be corrected. But the more I thought about it the only real option was to inform my supervisor and team of the situation and try and correct it and not sign off on the tournament when I know I would be breaking the law, regardless of what can happens to me and to my position and what people may think.
The truth is that as believers we are called to submit to the God's laws and God tells us to obey the laws of the land unless they go directly against His word. Not only are we called to those laws we are called to live lives of integrity. This is where the Sunday pew sitting Christian meets the real life Christian. Where you actually have to walk out your faith and face the consequences of being different from the world and put our faith into action and be doers of the word.
Is this hard? You bet. But the Bible doesn't tell us that it is going to be easy. It says that we are going to be persecuted for our faith. People are going to laugh at us for being different, for not just taking the easy road, but the one less travelled. We are called to be Light in this dark world and what better way than to stand up for the law even if we don't always agree with it.
This is a perhaps a simple case, and the one you are facing is a lot more challenging with a lot more factors. Whatever the situation may be that you are facing now or will be facing, remember that one day we will be called to face the ultimate Judge for our actions.
Yes, everyone else may do something and may never get caught, in fact no one would ever know but the reality is that God knows. He knows our choices and how we respond to faith challenging moments. He isn't going to ask what the other person did, or how they responded, but more how did you respond when you were tested. He is going to give you the wisdom on how to respond in your situation, He wants to speak to your heart to show you the road less travelled. I hope that the more I am tested the more I am refined and the more I look Jesus in the end.
My friend chose to inform his team and his supervisor of the law and that he would not sign off the event if they expected him to put his name down. He did not lose his job; in fact his boss supported his decision to follow the law and agreed with his decision. Not everyone else on the team agreed with his stance to submit to the law and some did not see it as an issue. He stood his ground and can go to sleep knowing that he made the right choice in God's eyes even if others don't agree.
Genevieve Wilson is married with two children who served with YWAM for eight years in Brisbane and now serving in mission in Canada as a modern day abolitionist.
Genevieve Wilson's previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/genevieve-wilson.html