Government officials from the school district, accompanied by a policer officer, once knocked on my parent’s door in France in the early 2000’s because we chose to homeschool. We welcomed them in, serviced them coffee and cookies.

If this happened to us today in Idaho, it would likely look more like a confrontation that would go viral on social media: “I don’t answer questions. You are trespassing and I want you to leave my property now. Do you have a warrant? I’m calling the sheriff. You are being recorded for my safety. No, you cannot come in, and we have nothing to talk about – talk to my lawyer.”

Why the difference?

In the first scenario, we were the sole Christian homeschoolers in a city of two million, where the laws were gray, and we had no allies. We were behind enemy lines.

In the second scenario, we live in a free country (yes, by comparison still incredibly free), with laws on our side (first and foremost, the American Constitution), allies, knowledge, resources, and a line to defend.

Same family, same convictions, same situation, yet in one the faithful and strategic thing to do was to show kindness and diplomacy to someone. And in the other, that same action would be compromise, danger to my family, and very possibly unfaithful.

Let me illustrate my point with a stark example: It’s 1940s Germany, and two men in Berlin put on a German uniform. One, fearing for his life, decided to “go to work” and follow orders. The other carefully buttons his German uniform making sure it is perfect and he looks like a faithful servant of the Third Reich because he is a spy, and he’s on a mission.

Sometimes the same act can be an act of cowardice or bravery or folly or strategy.

It’s important to know where the battle lines are, and while side you are fighting on. And in the thick of it, it’s often hard to know where that line is, and what is “blending it” for the sake of strategy, and what is compromise. Covid tested this for many of us, and the lines weren’t the same for all people and all situations.

Here is practical one for this platform. Are we behind enemy lines here on LinkedIn or Facebook or X? Have the lines changed since, say, Covid?

Determine to be faithful first, then determine the best strategy for resistance or attack.