“Do you have any other radios?”
“No.” Corrie replied.
The man took the radio from her and nodded her on.
Corrie sighed. Don’t worry about it, she told herself, God knows I did it for a good reason. It was the first lie she had ever told.
The Nazi’s were confiscating all radios, each household was required to turn theirs in, but the ten Booms needed a radio to help with resistance work. They hid their big set in the hollow place under the stairs and Corrie took just the portable one to the warehouse.
Had she answered “yes” to the soldier’s question they would have demanded the other radio be turned in also and the ten Boom family would fall under the Nazi’s suspicion. Which was no small danger, especially with their involvement in the underground.
It was unavoidable, she told herself. She had to lie… didn’t she?
A Question of Morality
Is it always wrong lie? What if it’s for a good reason? What if telling the truth put you or others in danger?
Hiding Jews in Nazi occupied Holland was a dangerous task and the ten Booms, who had always believed it was wrong to lie, found themselves wondering if they might have to. Corrie argued it wasn’t wrong to lie if it meant saving someone’s life.
Her sister, Nollie disagreed. “We are to keep God’s commandment. If we do, He will honour that obedience.”
It would soon be put to the test.
A Calculated Response
Men and boys, from sixteen to thirty, were being rounded up by the Nazis and taken to work in the munition factories. It was called the Razzia and such seizures could happen at any time of day or night.
Nollie and her husband, Flip von Woerden, had three boys and the entire family feared they’d soon be taken. As a precaution, the von Woerdens hid the entrance to their cellar — a makeshift hiding place — and the boys stayed as near to home as possible.
One afternoon, while the family was preparing to celebrate Flip’s birthday, a group of soldiers appeared at the end of the street. Peter and Bob came flying into the kitchen.
It took only moments for them to get into the secret room and the mat to be replaced. The ladies in the kitchen — the van Woerden’s youngest daughter, Cocky and their Aunts, Corrie and Betsie heard the front door slam open and soldiers run up the stair. One came into the kitchen waving his rifle as he shouted for the women to move against the wall.
“Do you have brothers?” One of the men asked, singling Cocky out. The soldiers had already made an unsuccessful search of the house.
Cocky glanced nervously at her aunts, wishing they could tell her what to say. All her life she had been told not to lie, but what about now? She tried to guess what her parents would say.
“Well?”
Cocky nodded. “Yes. Three.”
The man grinned, “And how old are your brothers?”
She wondered how long could she continue to tell the truth. “The oldest is twenty-one. The others are nineteen and eighteen.”
“Good answer. Where are they?”
“The oldest is at Theological College. He doesn’t get home most nights because–“
“And the other two?”
Cocky knew her answer could put her brothers into jeopardy. She couldn’t do that, not when they were so close to escaping, not for such a silly conviction. Surely, when her parents had told her she must never lie they hadn’t realized she would have to face a circumstance like this.
She didn’t know what to do. She was so nervous she began to laugh. She couldn’t help it.
“They are under the table.” She said, laughing still.
The officer walked over to the table and lifted the overhanging cloth. When he turned back to look at Cocky his expression had darkened. He slapped her across the face. “Don’t take us for fools!” He shouted. Motioning for his companion to follow, the young man stormed out of the house.
Cocky hadn’t lied. Her brothers were under the table. It was there, under the mat that the trap door to the cellar was hidden.
A Family Disagreement
That evening, the family had a discussion about whether or not Cocky had done the right thing.
“It was an unnecessary risk.” Corrie argued, “It’s alright to lie, Cocky, if you have a very good reason. God knows the motive of the act, and -“
Nollie interrupted. “That isn’t so, Corrie! God tells us not to lie and Cocky did right to follow. It was He who blessed her with faith to obey and He kept the boys safe also.”
Corrie wasn’t convinced. It seemed more like a near miss than providence to her. God did say not to lie, but He also said “rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death” (Proverbs xxiv.11). When the two came into conflict, she believed the latter was the more important to uphold.
The controversy was revisited when both Nollie and Annaliesse, a Jewish girl who had been living with the von Woerdens were taken by the Gestapo. The agents had asked Nollie if Annaliesse was a Jew and she told them the truth. In result, she was taken to a prison in Haarlem and Annaliesse was sent to a holding area in Amsterdam.
Corrie’s worry for her sister and Annaliesse only enhanced her frustration over the ongoing disagreement. “Will she never see that one does not have to adhere to morals regardless of reason?”
Even in prison, Nollie refused to recant her convictions.
“She actually believes that God will honour her obedience and keep Annaliese from harm!” Corrie related what the messenger had said in disbelief.
The All-Knowing Lawmaker
Many agree with Corrie’s convictions. How can it be wrong to tell a lie if it is accomplishing good? Surely, it’s alright to lie if the only alternative is something worse!
But is that actually the only alternative? Cocky told the truth because God had said to and she recognized He was all knowing – He had known she would be faced with this situation when He gave that command.
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?” (Deuteronomy x. 12 -13)
When Moses gave God’s law to the Israelites he explained that it was for their good. The laws weren’t just random rules He had decided to burden them with. He in all His wisdom had made the law to protect the people and cause them to prosper.
God had a purpose in telling us not to lie. The command stands as law even when we are faced with danger. If we justify lying, even for a very good reason, we essentially say, “I know what God said, but did He know…?”
The answer is yes. God is all knowing. Even when He first gave the command, He knew of the predicaments Corrie, Cocky, and Nollie would face. He knew the morals He gave them to live by might seem to conflict and yet no where in His Word did He place an exception to the rule. Instead He said:
“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal faithfully are His delight.” (Proverbs xii. 22)
“Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds.” (Colossians iii. 9)
Conflicting Commands
So what do we do when God’s commands come into conflict?
As Corrie said, we are commanded to defend the helpless and rescue those who are being led away to death. How do we do that if we can’t lie?
Here, we are called to have faith.
It’s a test. A test to see if we will trust His words and obey Him or if we will rely on our own understanding instead.
Corrie was right – telling the truth was a risk, however it wasn’t an unnecessary one. It is always necessary to obey God.
When we find ourselves in a circumstance which appears to offer only bad options, it doesn’t have to be a matter of picking which command to obey – if we trust Him.
Nothing takes God by surprise. He never asks us to do something without enabling us to do it. He is perfectly able to make a way for us to keep both commands simultaneously.
Cocky chose, in simple faith, not to rely on her own understanding. She entrusted her brother’s care to God Himself and this was far from a foolish choice. He alone was able to protect them – whether she lied or told the truth.
When Nollie made a similar choice the evidence of His faithfulness did not immediately appear, yet her trust too was rewarded. A few days after Corrie received Nollie’s message, she got news that Annaliesse and forty other Jews who she had been held with had been rescued!
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs iii. 5-6)
There may be a situation, or many situations, when it seems like we must disobey God. Even then we do not have permission to override His Word. Such situations are opportunities for Him to show us a way we could not see.
He does not face the same limitations we do and for this reason our discernment is never to be trusted above His word. We remember Him and demonstrate that we trust Him through obedience. We have a God, who alone is wise, and we are called to obey Him. He will not abandon us.
“Indeed, no one who waits for You shall be put to shame…” (Psalm xxv. 3)
In Christ
Quiana
*Scripture references in NKJV unless otherwise noted.
*Facts and Quotes were taken from Corrie ten Boom’s book, The Hiding Place.
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