Committing a Sin to Benefit/Protect My Child

[aubsessedtllc]

Based on our current address, my child is zoned for a low ranking, underperforming, and dangerous school! After months of losing sleep trying to make the right decision, I chose to ask a friend (with an address zoned for a much better, safer school) if we could sign a fake lease agreement and get one utility bill in my name in order to get my child into this better and safer school. I am desperate for some Godly advice and Biblical counsel regarding this situation.

 

[Neogaia777]

Based on our current address, my child is zoned for a low ranking, underperforming, and dangerous school! After months of losing sleep trying to make the right decision, I chose to ask a friend (with an address zoned for a much better, safer school) if we could sign a fake lease agreement and get one utility bill in my name in order to get my child into this better and safer school. I am desperate for some Godly advice and Biblical counsel regarding this situation.

The situation is similar to lying to hide Jews from Nazi's...

Though it is a greyer area... I think, under the circumstances the deceit might be justifiable...

Have you asked God about it... God sent a lying spirit to deceive a king, Ahab, I think... For the greater good...

Peace,

God Bless!

 

[Neogaia777]

Would there be any trouble legally if they ever found out about it...? If there is or would be, you may want to consider that also...

 

[High Fidelity]

There's really no way of spinning it to be anything other than wrong.

Will a lot of people understand? Sure. But it's still sinful.

There's no 'little' or 'big' sin. Sin is sin and the bear the same penalty, no matter how well-intended.

 

[NothingIsImpossible]

Well even when we have a justified reason for our lie, problem is your dealing with laws. We are to obey mans law unless it interferes with Gods law. Theres nothing in Gods law that talks about a situation like this so your breaking mans law and sinning (well lying too). So in my eyes your sort of just stuck with that district for now. Unless you could afford to move or maybe work with the school you want to the kids to be in to see if you can get them to go there somehow. I have heard of parents having their kid transferred to other schools. I'm not a parent though so not sure how exactly that all works.

 

[Neogaia777]

Yes, first you might want to see if there is any legal way your child could go to another school...

 

[stuart lawrence]

Based on our current address, my child is zoned for a low ranking, underperforming, and dangerous school! After months of losing sleep trying to make the right decision, I chose to ask a friend (with an address zoned for a much better, safer school) if we could sign a fake lease agreement and get one utility bill in my name in order to get my child into this better and safer school. I am desperate for some Godly advice and Biblical counsel regarding this situation.

Can I be frank?
Although you are thinking in regard to your child's well-being, you would be being dishonest. And that may trouble your conscience.
But God wont cast you into hell for being dishonest. It's whether you can live with your conscience

 

[Neogaia777]

Don't let your dishonesty this time, in this case, lead to more times and cases of doing it, if you choose to do it...

It can be a slippery slope and part of the danger...

God Bless!

 

[Neogaia777]

The danger is, if your willing to compromise in this case, in what other areas are you willing to compromise in...? and will the enemy be able to get permission from God to test you in this, if you do lie for those reasons...

I think someone said that "True Justice" is the "art of compromise" Of when to make compromises and concessions or exceptions to the rules and when not to...

There can be no justice so long as laws are absolute... Never this, or never that, usually for almost every moral there is a time and place to break it, circumstances should matter...

Though these are usually a minority...

God Bless!

 

[Hidden In Him]

Based on our current address, my child is zoned for a low ranking, underperforming, and dangerous school! After months of losing sleep trying to make the right decision, I chose to ask a friend (with an address zoned for a much better, safer school) if we could sign a fake lease agreement and get one utility bill in my name in order to get my child into this better and safer school. I am desperate for some Godly advice and Biblical counsel regarding this situation.

Greetings! Well, I hate to say this, but I'm not really concerned about being judged for doing so, so here goes: I'd have to say I agree whole-heartedly with Neogaia's first post, though he seems to have qualified the daylights out of it since. If I was deeply concerned about my child's welfare I can promise you, without question, I would lie to protect him, and feel absolutely no convictions about it whatsoever. And that's coming from a man who walks very close to God on a daily basis. It is similar to if I felt led to spank my child for the sake of keeping him or her from developing a taste for sinful and rebellious behavior. To do so is increasingly becoming viewed as "illegal" these days, and punishable by law in some states, depending on the severity. But if I thought that's what God was telling me to do to protect my child, then throw me in prison for it. I'd die for one I loved before I'd let them go to Hell because I was afraid to "break the law."

So compared to all that, fudging a few documents seems like nothing to me.

 

[RaymondG]

This isnt about protecting a child in the spur of the moment......a murderer asking where they are and you say over there, when you know he is right here.

This involves a web of lies and deceit that you would involve another soul to enter into with you.....to avoid perceived danger...even though on a web site like this, we should know that if we must walk through a valley of the shadow of death we should fear no evil......for God is with us.

We are the lights of the world......yet if our light be darkness.....how great is that darkness. We are examples of Christ..... These acts are more likened to the great deceiver.

But you are free to do as you wish......and I wouldn't condemn you.
I personally would rather have God on my side in the bad school, than to go at it alone in the good school.

 

[Kit Sigmon]

Based on our current address, my child is zoned for a low ranking, underperforming, and dangerous school!
Are these issues/ and dangers being addressed/reported? follow up?
Are you actually saying that nobody in your entire town will help those poor children who are in danger?

After months of losing sleep trying to make the right decision, I chose to ask a friend (with an address zoned for a much better, safer school) if we could sign a fake lease agreement and get one utility bill in my name in order to get my child into this better and safer school.
That would be fraudulent acts and you and your friend would be guilty.

Why not do it legally? move, sell whatever/take out a loan and move.

What does the child's father say about the matter?

Will your church family not help you find a better solution than committing
a fraudulent act?
You know that if you/your child are caught it could possibly lead to:
stiff fines, court/lawyer costs, possible incarceration and your child being removed from the good school and not to mention from your custody if you have
to do jail time should you live in any one of the school district states that take a dim view of school district hopping, such as:

Connecticut
Illinois
Pennsylvania
New York
Ohio
Washington D.C
Oklahoma
Missouri
Florida
Michigan
California
etc...

I am desperate for some Godly advice and Biblical counsel regarding this situation.

Choices:
Make a stand, fight to improve the situations at the school that's less than stellar.
Make sure you have the facts of the matter in hand and not "hearsay".
Do take a personal tour yourself of the school, talk to the principal, some staff etc... note all problems/situations, rally a support team to take on the issues and resolve them (if there are serious issues).

Move to a better school zone or home-school your child until you can move.
Make sure you do your homework before moving, so you don't end up in a
similar situation.

 

[GandalfTheWise]

Exodus 1: 15-21 is always a troublesome passage with regard to anything other than complete honesty being sinful. In that passage, God obviously viewed the saving of the babies as being of a much higher priority than confessing honestly to Pharaoh. There is also I Samuel 1, where Hannah leaves a toddler (Samuel) in the care of a man whose sons are among the worst sinners of the time. Without knowing the age of your child, the situation, and other things, I really don't have an opinion on your proposed actions except that you need to clearly count the potential cost of this before doing it.

Here are the questions I have (which echo some things others have already said):

1. What are the legal ramifications for you and your friend and your child? Do you know for sure what the potential consequences are? Do a Google or Bing Search on "School Enrollment Fraud" for your state and city and find out. This may not be a trivial thing! In some places, records fraud is a felony (including jail time) and your child could be expelled.
2. Is home schooling an option? Are there any private school options?
3. Is this something where you and other parents could unite in some way to make a difference?
4. Is it possible for you and your family to actually move to a better school district?
5. Is your child at an age where schooling is mandatory? Could you wait to enroll a year and plan to move before then?
6. Could you actually move in with your friend to actually live in that district/zone?
7. Is your lifestyle situation such that you could be a volunteer worker or something else so as to spend time in the school?
8. How much on-going lying will you and your child (and maybe your friend) have to do to maintain the facade of a different address? This isn't about filling out papers once; it's about making sure no one at the school (including teachers, peers, administration) ever finds out. What will this do to your reputation?
9. What happens if your friend moves?
10. Is this situation God's way of pushing you and your family to a lifestyle change of some sort (such as moving somewhere or taking a different job)?

Think long and hard and prayerfully about whether or not God is directly calling you to violate local laws, or if there is some other option He wants you to take. Consider too who else will have to assist you in violating these laws. This is not a "one and done" action; it is a decision for an on-going "out of the system" lifestyle that will have to be maintained for the school year (or longer).

Ultimately the question is, what is the path God has planned for your child? Will attending a "better" and "safer" school make them a better person than the poorer school? Will attending the poorer school give them a perspective on life that being more sheltered wouldn't? Also, "better" schools have their own sets of problems that may not be as visible, but can leave lifelong scars as well.

 

[paul1149]

We are given at least two examples in the Hall of Faith in Heb 11 where lying is applauded. The midwives lied - or at least stretched the truth - to Pharaoh when they said the Hebrew women were so vital that they gave birth before the midwives could get to them. This was in order to evade the edict that the Hebrew children should be killed. The second was Rahab of Jericho, who lied to her authorities in order to hide and protect the Hebrew spies. From the viewpoint of Jericho, it was an act of treason. She and her family were preserved and went on to live among the Israelites, and indeed she actually is in the direct lineage of Christ.

I'm sure there are other examples. David, for instance, broke the rules and ate the show bread when he was fleeing Saul for his life. There doesn't seem to be a negative word about it, and even Jesus alluded to it.

What does this mean? That we should avoid legalism. Jesus taught that it's ok to break the Sabbath in order to, for instance, save an animal. Sometimes obedience does come down to the very letter, but most often it's the principle of the thing that really matters. If the first school is really that bad, if something happened to your child how would your conscience feel then? Go through the various scenarios and see how you would be able to live with them. Do it with prayer, give it enough time, and then go with what gives you peace. At least, that's what I would do.

May the Lord give you wisdom and lead you in peace.

 

[RaymondG]

Exodus 1: 15-21 is always a troublesome passage with regard to anything other than complete honesty being sinful. In that passage, God obviously viewed the saving of the babies as being of a much higher priority than confessing honestly to Pharaoh. There is also I Samuel 1, where Hannah leaves a toddler (Samuel) in the care of a man whose sons are among the worst sinners of the time. Without knowing the age of your child, the situation, and other things, I really don't have an opinion on your proposed actions except that you need to clearly count the potential cost of this before doing it.

Here are the questions I have (which echo some things others have already said):

1. What are the legal ramifications for you and your friend and your child? Do you know for sure what the potential consequences are? Do a Google or Bing Search on "School Enrollment Fraud" for your state and city and find out. This may not be a trivial thing! In some places, records fraud is a felony (including jail time) and your child could be expelled.
2. Is home schooling an option? Are there any private school options?
3. Is this something where you and other parents could unite in some way to make a difference?
4. Is it possible for you and your family to actually move to a better school district?
5. Is your child at an age where schooling is mandatory? Could you wait to enroll a year and plan to move before then?
6. Could you actually move in with your friend to actually live in that district/zone?
7. Is your lifestyle situation such that you could be a volunteer worker or something else so as to spend time in the school?
8. How much on-going lying will you and your child (and maybe your friend) have to do to maintain the facade of a different address? This isn't about filling out papers once; it's about making sure no one at the school (including teachers, peers, administration) ever finds out. What will this do to your reputation?
9. What happens if your friend moves?
10. Is this situation God's way of pushing you and your family to a lifestyle change of some sort (such as moving somewhere or taking a different job)?

Think long and hard and prayerfully about whether or not God is directly calling you to violate local laws, or if there is some other option He wants you to take. Consider too who else will have to assist you in violating these laws. This is not a "one and done" action; it is a decision for an on-going "out of the system" lifestyle that will have to be maintained for the school year (or longer).

Ultimately the question is, what is the path God has planned for your child? Will attending a "better" and "safer" school make them a better person than the poorer school? Will attending the poorer school give them a perspective on life that being more sheltered wouldn't? Also, "better" schools have their own sets of problems that may not be as visible, but can leave lifelong scars as well.

God's plan would never include deception...

 

[stuart lawrence]

Exodus 1: 15-21 is always a troublesome passage with regard to anything other than complete honesty being sinful. In that passage, God obviously viewed the saving of the babies as being of a much higher priority than confessing honestly to Pharaoh. There is also I Samuel 1, where Hannah leaves a toddler (Samuel) in the care of a man whose sons are among the worst sinners of the time. Without knowing the age of your child, the situation, and other things, I really don't have an opinion on your proposed actions except that you need to clearly count the potential cost of this before doing it.

Here are the questions I have (which echo some things others have already said):

1. What are the legal ramifications for you and your friend and your child? Do you know for sure what the potential consequences are? Do a Google or Bing Search on "School Enrollment Fraud" for your state and city and find out. This may not be a trivial thing! In some places, records fraud is a felony (including jail time) and your child could be expelled.
2. Is home schooling an option? Are there any private school options?
3. Is this something where you and other parents could unite in some way to make a difference?
4. Is it possible for you and your family to actually move to a better school district?
5. Is your child at an age where schooling is mandatory? Could you wait to enroll a year and plan to move before then?
6. Could you actually move in with your friend to actually live in that district/zone?
7. Is your lifestyle situation such that you could be a volunteer worker or something else so as to spend time in the school?
8. How much on-going lying will you and your child (and maybe your friend) have to do to maintain the facade of a different address? This isn't about filling out papers once; it's about making sure no one at the school (including teachers, peers, administration) ever finds out. What will this do to your reputation?
9. What happens if your friend moves?
10. Is this situation God's way of pushing you and your family to a lifestyle change of some sort (such as moving somewhere or taking a different job)?

Think long and hard and prayerfully about whether or not God is directly calling you to violate local laws, or if there is some other option He wants you to take. Consider too who else will have to assist you in violating these laws. This is not a "one and done" action; it is a decision for an on-going "out of the system" lifestyle that will have to be maintained for the school year (or longer).

Ultimately the question is, what is the path God has planned for your child? Will attending a "better" and "safer" school make them a better person than the poorer school? Will attending the poorer school give them a perspective on life that being more sheltered wouldn't? Also, "better" schools have their own sets of problems that may not be as visible, but can leave lifelong scars as well.

I knew a gandalf the white!

 

[stuart lawrence]

Based on our current address, my child is zoned for a low ranking, underperforming, and dangerous school! After months of losing sleep trying to make the right decision, I chose to ask a friend (with an address zoned for a much better, safer school) if we could sign a fake lease agreement and get one utility bill in my name in order to get my child into this better and safer school. I am desperate for some Godly advice and Biblical counsel regarding this situation.

Have you read: The hiding place?

Corrie ten boom was at her sisters house one day in Holland under German Occupation during ww2. German soldiers were rounding up men to take them to Germany to work for their war effort. Two of her sisters sons quickly opened the trap door beneath the kitchen table to hide from the Germans. A mat was placed over the trap door, the table put back in place and the women sat round the table.
When the German soldiers entered the house they demanded to know where the men of the house were.
Corrie's sister had raised her children to always tell the truth. The girl told the Germans her brothers were under the table. One soldier peered to look under the table, and the girl laughed hysterically, the pent up emotion being released that way. The soldiers of course saw nothing under the table apart from a mat. Furiously they left the house, imagining the girl was laughing at them.
That evening when the girls mother came home their was a family argument. The girls mother insisted her daughter was correct to tell the truth. God honours truth telling she said. Corrie her sister disagreed. Lying was permissable under such circumstances.
I'm afraid it won't help satisfy your conscience either way getting others opinions here. As you can see, your respondents have different views in what you should do. As the Ten Booms had different views concerning whether lying was at times permissable.
In my view, if you want peace, you should follow your conscience, and if you don't lie/ are not dishonest, God will honour it. But I appreciate that is easy for me to say
God bless

 

[danstribe]

Have you read: The hiding place?

Corrie ten boom was at her sisters house one day in Holland under German Occupation during ww2. German soldiers were rounding up men to take them to Germany to work for their war effort. Two of her sisters sons quickly opened the trap door beneath the kitchen table to hide from the Germans. A mat was placed over the trap door, the table put back in place and the women sat round the table.
When the German soldiers entered the house they demanded to know where the men of the house were.
Corrie's sister had raised her children to always tell the truth. The girl told the Germans her brothers were under the table. One soldier peered to look under the table, and the girl laughed hysterically, the pent up emotion being released that way. The soldiers of course saw nothing under the table apart from a mat. Furiously they left the house, imagining the girl was laughing at them.
That evening when the girls mother came home their was a family argument. The girls mother insisted her daughter was correct to tell the truth. God honours truth telling she said. Corrie her sister disagreed. Lying was permissable under such circumstances.
I'm afraid it won't help satisfy your conscience either way getting others opinions here. As you can see, your respondents have different views in what you should do. As the Ten Booms had different views concerning whether lying was at times permissable.
In my view, if you want peace, you should follow your conscience, and if you don't lie/ are not dishonest, God will honour it. But I appreciate that is easy for me to say
God bless

God will provide a way that is not sin, pray and wait for it.

 

[GandalfTheWise]

We are given at least two examples in the Hall of Faith in Heb 11 where lying is applauded. The midwives lied - or at least stretched the truth - to Pharaoh when they said the Hebrew women were so vital that they gave birth before the midwives could get to them. This was in order to evade the edict that the Hebrew children should be killed. The second was Rahab of Jericho, who lied to her authorities in order to hide and protect the Hebrew spies. From the viewpoint of Jericho, it was an act of treason. She and her family were preserved and went on to live among the Israelites, and indeed she actually is in the direct lineage of Christ.

I'm sure there are other examples. David, for instance, broke the rules and ate the show bread when he was fleeing Saul for his life. There doesn't seem to be a negative word about it, and even Jesus alluded to it.

What does this mean? That we should avoid legalism. Jesus taught that it's ok to break the Sabbath in order to, for instance, save an animal. Sometimes obedience does come down to the very letter, but most often it's the principle of the thing that really matters. If the first school is really that bad, if something happened to your child how would your conscience feel then? Go through the various scenarios and see how you would be able to live with them. Do it with prayer, give it enough time, and then go with what gives you peace. At least, that's what I would do.

May the Lord give you wisdom and lead you in peace.

I'd be hesitant to say lying is "applauded", but rather that it occurred as part of self-preservation and did not seem to draw explicit condemnation for that act only. I'd also potentially add in I Sam 16 where God tells Samuel to go anoint David. Samuel protests that Saul would kill him. God then gives Samuel a convenient excuse to hide the main truth from Saul. Not outright lying, but definitely hiding something from Saul and making sure Saul would have the wrong impression of what was happening. I'd note that each of these situations did not involve normal everyday business, life, and interactions, but rather life and death situations for individuals doing the right thing versus governing authorities (who would view the individuals as enemies).

Having said that, I think the main principle to consider is whether people can trust us or not. Trust is a fragile thing that can be destroyed with a single lie or a single failure to speak up as to the truth of things. Trust is what drives our capability of reaching out to others and forming relationships. It is something that is built by a track record of dependability and consistency. When we tell the truth to our own monetary loss, inconvenience, or trouble, it speaks to our character and compassion. When we lie (or omit the truth) to our advantage, it breaks relationships and takes advantage of people and makes us out to be untrustworthy.

 

[Greg J.]

Based on our current address, my child is zoned for a low ranking, underperforming, and dangerous school! After months of losing sleep trying to make the right decision, I chose to ask a friend (with an address zoned for a much better, safer school) if we could sign a fake lease agreement and get one utility bill in my name in order to get my child into this better and safer school. I am desperate for some Godly advice and Biblical counsel regarding this situation.

Any logic proposed that makes it seem OK to sin can only do so by leaving God's potential to act out of the equation. It is proposing to do something that rejects God (by rejecting trusting Him to deal with it). We live in a world controlled by the evil one and we have no way to attack evil it or defend from it other than the spiritual weapons God has given us, which bring his will and power close to us for our benefit. He is the only one that can work in our favor in the supernatural realm.

Intentionally sinning is guaranteed to be the absolutely worst thing that can be done in any situation in the long run, regardless of what is costs for the next 20, 80, or 300 years—and I'm not just talking about heavenly reward (or hell), but in this life. It is a way of saying "no thanks" to Jesus dying for you. Every sin has the potential to have the same effects as Adam eating a piece of fruit or worse. It is a way to summon death and destruction upon oneself and others. Under the Mosaic Law, which is a reflection of God's nature, there was no way to be forgiven of intentional sin. All that stuff about the High Priest every year and the red heifer wouldn't have been for you. For such a person there was only being cast out of the nation (spiritual equivalent=destined for hell) or being executed (spiritual equivalent=going to hell now).

I strongly urge the path of falling on your face in humility to God and ask him for what you want (good education for your child? safety?) and then always do the best you can to obey Him—and thankfully accept whatever he causes or allows to happen, because he will work it out for the best in the long run. That is the only path that leads God.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Matthew 5:8, 1984 NIV)

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” (John 14:21, 1984 NIV)

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:7-10, 1984 NIV)

Sorry if this post is too graphic, but it has become common to take sin lightly in our culture, when in fact "sin" is a three-letter word that means "choosing to reject God, his love, his sacrifice, his blessings, his provision, and his grace for the forgiveness of your sins." That's what taking his grace for granted is.