American Missionary Fellowship

After we got off the airplane, we were asked by reporters what took place. It was very interesting to watch how people handled the news media. There were some – one in particular, a man named Earl – who were very calm. Earl is the person who really subdued the man, and the rest of us sort of helped him. He was very kind, generous, thorough, honest, and accurate. I had something to do with it. I saw the whole incident and certainly was part of it, but Earl was the man.

Earl told the story calmly, but there were several other interviews I watched on the same incident, of people who were very peripherally involved but seemed to have more knowledge than Earl and the rest of us who were actually part of the incident. One girl told reporters how proud she was of her boyfriend because he sat on the man, but that never happened. There was another interview of a guy who had not gotten involved at all but seemed to have intimate knowledge of how the pilots (who, by the way, never came out of the cockpit) responded to the situation.

It just reminded me that each of us has two choices when we see something happen – either tell the truth as accurately as possible, or sensationalize it and try to make yourself look good. I watched Earl respond well on the plane and in interviews, and then I watched other people jockey for publicity and attempt to make themselves look like heroes. And then I heard those same people wondering out loud what United would do to reward them for this heroic action.

You know what? Those of us in AMF are to be more like Earl than the publicity hounds. We are to do what is right. We must do it accurately, do it quietly, and do it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We don’t look for glory, and we don’t look for people to pat us on the back. Our reward is with our Father in heaven.