Red Zone (The Sensitive and Dangerous Matters)

In the last two posts, I presented ways that can help you make sound decisions depending on the situation:

Black and White situations  – you will normally have clear, straightforward choices. Therefore, decisions should be simple and common sense should prevail.

Grey Area situations  – two or more choices that are ill-defined and confusing. Dealing with Grey Areas is usually a matter of personal preference. There are no absolutes.

Now, we will look at Red zone situations.  In the Red zone, the situation tends to force you to take a specific course of action. It doesn’t usually present you with meaningful options. Imagine someone pointing a gun at you, and asking you to surrender your wallet… What will you do? Except if you are a very well trained martial artist in the order of Jackie Chan, please give him the wallet immediately.

Even in a circumstance where there seems to be some options, in the Red zone they are usually not real or comparable. For example, a hostage-taker may threaten to kill a hostage unless the relatives pay a ransom. Killing the hostage is not a preferred option, even to the captor. The threat is meant to make the relatives feel that paying the ransom is a sensible thing to do.

Close-ended questions are great in Black and White situations. However, in the Red zone, in a sensitive or dangerous circumstance, the consequences of straightforward answers may not be acceptable to you. The consideration of the consequences may make you feel uncomfortable or cornered even if it is not intended.

I will not forget what my daughter, Civir, did on her fifth birthday. Early that morning, I was very delighted to find a beautiful cake that Sefa, her elder sister, had prepared for her during the night while most of us were sleeping. In my excitement, I brought Civir to show her the yummy-looking cake. However, I was a bit surprised by her lack of enthusiasm. I then asked her, “Don’t you like this beautiful cake?” She answered, “I love my sister.” I asked again and she gave me the same answer. At the third time, she simply said, “Well, I love the details”. I was completely at loss at what she was trying to communicate. I later got to know that the cake didn’t quite have the colors she had asked for. Yet, the love for her sister was more important to her than cake colors. I was amazed that a 5 year old would get so well what I and many others are still struggling to learn.

Sometimes, questions asked in the Red zone are not for want of information, but simply to push you to fall into one of the set traps.

How would you respond if someone asks you: “Have you stopped cheating on your spouse?” This is a close-ended question that tries to impose on you only one of the two possible  responses – “Yes” or “No”. A “Yes” answer means you used to cheat, whereas a “No” answer means you are still cheating. Even though it may not be the case with you, the question somehow attempts to limit the choices of your response.

How then do you deal with situations in the “Red zone”?

My main point is that you should not limit yourself to the options provided. However, some of the escape routes are not authentic and therefore you should avoid them. Here are three of them:

“I don’t recall”
Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, the late renown British comedian, once said:
“As you get older three things happen. The first is your memory goes, and I can’t remember the other two.” [i] I really doubt if many of the “I don’t recall” in the court rooms have anything to do with age. I believe it is usually a convenient way of escape from answering difficult questions.

“I don’t know”
Jesus had many enemies who were always desperate to trap him. They posed difficult questions and scenarios. In one instance recorded in Luke chapter 20 they asked him “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things… Who gave you this authority?” Please note that this question came from a whole consortium: “the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders.” It was not from an investigative journalist. In fact, it was a well thought out trap. Jesus turned the tables on them:

He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?” After they analyzed the deadly implications of each possible response, they replied: “We don’t know.”

In a different setting, when Jesus was arrested, all of his followers left him. Even Peter, despite his earlier vows, followed at a distance. Yet when asked of his association with Jesus, he denied vehemently, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!” [ii]

“I don’t know” and “I don’t recall (remember)” are probably the most common lies of All Time! Jesus never would resort to lies even when cornered. He answered the consortium of enemies:

“Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” [iii]

In other words “I don’t know” and “I don’t recall” are not proper escapes when facing Red zone situations. Of course, except if—and only if—you sincerely don’t know or don’t remember.

Outright Deceit
“I don’t recall” and “I don’t know” are not the only deceitful ways people use to get out of difficult situations.

Unfortunately, the story of the manager in Luke 16:1-16 is a common way many deal with Red zone challenges. In this story, the manager was fired for cheating. He was to prepare his handover notes. Still with full access to the business records, the manager used the notice period to cheat even more. The main driver was “What shall I do now?”

The preoccupation with survival, job security, wealth and power can lead to deceit and many other practices that are destroying our society. It should not be this way.

Let us now look at some positive ways to deal with Red zone situations.

Prevention

The best way to deal with Red zone situations is to avoid getting into them in the first place.

For example, if you are running a business, you can minimize the harassment of the tax officials if you pay your taxes on time.

Sometime ago, a colleague of mine went out partying. On his way back at about 3am, driving under the influence of alcohol, he ran into the back of a truck and fractured both his legs. Consequently, he lost his job. This, and many other road accidents, are preventable with a widely known simple advice: “If you drink, don’t drive.”

The Centers for Disease Control advise that: “Keeping hands clean through improved hand hygiene is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others.” [iv]

As you can see from the above examples, following simple prevention guidelines can reduce many of the dangerous situations we face.

However, at times, when prevention may not work and you find yourself in a Red zone, it doesn’t mean that is the end. 

Let’s start with a very simple one:
If you are playing soccer and the referee gives you a red card, there’s no need to argue, simply vacate the pitch immediately, end of story. Trying to do anything else may complicate your already sad situation. Please note that the Red card is not the end of your career. Despite receiving staggering 46 Red cards during his career, the infamous Gerardo Bedoya remained a professional soccer player until voluntary retirement.

Fortunately, it is not every Red zone situation that rules out creative options from you. It is often possible to come up with legitimate ways to escape the trap. Nick Vujicic said, “Have you ever felt trapped in circumstances, then discovered that the only trap was your own lack of vision, lack of courage, or failure to see that you had better options?” [v]

Let’s take some examples:
In Matthew 22:15-22, the Pharisees and the Herodians made a foolproof plan to trap Jesus on taxes. After a very well-crafted flatter, they asked: “Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”
Knowing the background of these two groups is key to understanding the trap posed by this question.

The Pharisees were a group with very high ideals. To them, learning and character were extremely important. They were well-respected and popular with the majority of the Jewish population. They abhorred Gentile rule over the people of God. Paying taxes to the Roman government was not acceptable to them. [vi]

The Herodians favored submitting to the Herods, and therefore to Rome, for political expediency. This support of Herod compromised Jewish independence in the minds of the Pharisees, making it difficult for the Herodians and Pharisees to unite and agree on anything.

The only thing they agreed on was that Jesus and his teachings were ‘dangerous’ and must be stopped/eliminated by all means. [vii]

So if Jesus answered “Yes” that it was good to pay taxes to Rome, he would be in trouble with the Pharisees. On the other hand, if he said “No”, the Herodians would take on him. So it was a perfect trap… No way of escape, or so they thought.

But the Creator of the universe is never out of options. He simply asked them for a denarius used in paying the imperial tax, it surely had Caesar’s portrait and inscription! His answer was neither Yes nor No, yet it gave no room for further question. “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” silenced the enemies. That is the power of divine wisdom!

Crossing the Red Sea
At the Red Sea, the Israelites were literally in the red. The powerful enemy, the Egyptian soldiers, were hotly pursuing them. Meanwhile, the Red Sea was in front. The Israelites were trapped with no way of escape, no time and no options…yet, when Moses prayed, it turned out that it was not the end after all. The way out was not courage and weapons to fight the enemy, nor swimming at the speed of Michael Phelps, nor surrendering to the enemy and living like slaves again. The way out was below the surface. It was the sea bed, yes, right at the bottom of the sea! God simply moved water away and created a space that was wide enough for safe passage of 2 million people to the other side. A path to safety for them.

Unfortunately, not so for the soldiers chasing them. It was the path to their destruction! Be careful following others. The key to this miracle was the stick in the hand of Moses, used as God instructed! [viii]  Prayer and obedience to God open up new opportunities in desperate circumstances. Please note that if you are headed in the right direction, God’s way out of the Red zone is generally forward.

The Super Red Hot zone!
Put your hand in water heated at 65ºC (well below boiling point) for 2 seconds and you will easily get a third degree burn.[ix] My wife usually sets her oven to 200ºC, and a whole marinated chicken is fully cooked and ready for dinner in about an hour. Normally, a furnace operates at temperatures above 1,000ºC. That makes an oven feel like a refrigerator!

In the third chapter of the book of Daniel, following a dream that depicted him as the head of gold, the combustible king Nebuchadnezzar decided to set up a 27 meter tall golden statue and passed a law requiring everyone in his kingdom to worship it. The penalty for non-compliance was very well publicised – incineration in the super hot furnace! Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego of Jewish origin, refused to worship the golden statue. The king gave them one more chance, but they were still very defiant. The king raged and ordered that the blazing furnace be made 7 times hotter. That means a temperature of at least 7,000ºC! Apparently, the executioners had no experience carrying out incinerations at such high temperatures, so it turned out to be very disastrous to them. They were burned to death as they bounded and threw the three condemned men into the blazing fire. The king was amazed to see that the 3 men plus an angel were walking about, unbound and unhurt, in the fire! He called the 3 men out and instantly promoted them to higher ranks.

We can learn a lot from Daniel and his friends on how to deal with situations in the Red zone.

• Leveraging their good relationships with the officials, they ditched the royal menu for simpler, healthier vegetarian meals not requiring animal sacrifice to the idols (Daniel 1).
• They chose not to fight over the names given them that reflected Babylonian gods (Daniel 1:7).
• Daniel successfully negotiated his way out of a death sentence thereby saving his life and that of the other wisemen of Babylon (Daniel 2:13-19).
• Their daily work required interactions with the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers, yet their integrity and faith in God were not in doubt (Daniel 2;4).
• When forced to worship like the enchanters and sorcerers they did not compromise. Without a credible way out, they were willing to pay the ultimate price (Daniel 3, 6).

Please note that:
“If God always rescued those who were true to him, Christians would not need faith. Their religion would be a great insurance policy, and there would be lines of selfish people ready to sign up. We should be faithful to serve God whether he intervenes on our behalf or not. Our eternal reward is worth any suffering we may have to endure first.” [x]

In summary, Red zone situations are usually dangerous or at least sensitive. With God’s help, you can find creative and credible ways to escape unharmed. If there is no credible way out, be willing to pay the price for your faith, not losing sight of the eternal reward – and that matters more than anything else.

Further Reading

[i] Quote of forgetfulness – 20th Century British comedian Sir Norman Wisdom.

[ii] Peter denies Jesus (The Holy Bible Matthew 26:69-75 – NIV)

[iii] Jesus answers the Pharisees & the Herodians (The Holy Bible Luke 20:8 – NIV)

[iv]  Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives – Centers for Disease Control

[v] 21 Powerful Quotes from Nick Vujicic To Help You Lead

[vi]  Who are the Pharisees? (Taken from yougotquestions.org)

[vii] Who are the Herodians? (Taken from yougotquestions.org) 

[viii] Crossing the Red Sea (The Holy Bible Exodus 14 – NIV)

[ix] Avoiding Tap Water Scalds by The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) [x] Commentary on Daniel 3 – Life Application Study Bible

[xi] Negotiating the Impossible: How to Break Deadlocks and Resolve Ugly Conflicts (without Money or Muscle) – Deepak Malhotra (not referenced directly, but it’s a very useful read)

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