Article June 13, 1994 Issue

A call in the night

Marcia Youngman

In big cities, and even in small towns like mine, people may find their peace of mind or sense of security disturbed by crank telephone calls. When someone is harassed in this way, prayer can make an important difference. I had an opportunity to prove this when I received repeated late-night telephone calls for several months.

Because the calls were silent rather than obscene or suggestive, I didn't take them too seriously at first. Then I began receiving numerous calls during a single night, sometimes as late as 3 a.m. Unplugging the phone or leaving my answering machine on were not solutions, because I receive legitimate late calls.

I called the police and phone company to report the situation and ask what could be done. I was courteously given several suggestions. I tried some, and considered and rejected others when I realized they involved deceiving the caller or treating him unkindly. All along I tried to keep my response consistent with the Golden Rule given to us by Christ Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, found in the Bible (see Matt. 7:12). When Jesus directed us to treat others as we would like to be treated, he didn't attach exceptions. "It's all right to be obnoxious to people if they persist in behaving offensively" is not a concept found in Jesus' teachings!

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