You may have heard of George Orwell’s famous book “1984.” In that fictional story, we read about criminal activity “thoughtcrime” and a police force called the “Thinkpol.”

• READ: Thought Crime

Most of the world has dismissed Orwell’s idea as science fiction, and not something we will ever see. People can’t be arrested and charged because of silent thoughts, in their heads.

Or can they?

There is a story from England, about a woman who stood near an abortion clinic and prayed, silently. Apparently, there are legal restrictions in England to keep public demonstrations away from abortion clinics. There is a zone, around each clinic, and demonstrations are forbidden within the zone.

Whatever we think about abortions, we can understand a law that aims at protecting peace and safety in public places. Whether we agree or disagree, we can understand.

The woman who prayed understood the rule. Apparently, she was quiet and polite, while she prayed silently, inside the zone. Some people who oppose abortions have a strategy; they stand near a clinic and pray silently.

She was approached by police in uniforms, who interviewed her and issued a fine. They also warned her that they would return and arrest her if she continued praying.

So yes, we do have thought crimes:

• READ: Police apologise to Christian campaigner arrested after ‘silently praying’ outside abortion clinic

Note the video of the encounter with the two police officers. I think this is the original incident and not a re-enactment.

It looks like George Orwell predicted the future, in his science fiction story.

So, what should we do with this information? Are there any lessons for us?

Lessons:

The law:

This story ended with the police apologizing to the woman, and I’m sure she didn’t have to pay the fine. Also, the police did not return and arrest her. There is no law enforcement for thought crimes.

There is no legal reason to prosecute, or persecute the praying woman. Still, we know that the authorities tried to stop a woman from praying silently in a public place. That may be a picture of the future. Maybe George Orwell was onto something.

Spiritual beliefs:

A: Imagine the perspective of an atheist or anyone who doesn’t take God seriously. For them, the woman was only thinking thoughts in her head, and not communicating with any higher power. Nothing was happening, and no action was required.

B: Or, imagine someone who does believe in God. They could join her in a group prayer meeting. C: We should ask, who are the people who oppose silent prayer by Christians, the third group? Believe and oppose; apparently, they are out there, and they are active. We should ask ourselves what they believe.

Winning and losing:

So, who won the argument? The police were forceful, and the woman did receive a fine, as punishment. But then, later, the police authorities apologised. First, the authorities won, and then the praying woman won. It’s the principle of “Passive Resistance.”

Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu, and a lawyer, developed the idea of Passive Resistance to liberate India, and he was a spectacular success. Apparently, he read about Jesus, in the Christian Bible, and he liked the ideas, although he remained a Hindu.

Passive resistance is how Christians should face persecution:

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.” (Ephesians 5: 5: 8 to 11)

The praying woman only needed to tell the world what happened, and the whole world judged the authorities and found them guilty. She was a spectacular success, and she won.

There is one very important lesson that covers all the others: Think!

The lesson from the praying woman is given to us, and we should do something with it. We should all develop a good sense of how our world is changing. We need more people like George Orwell.

You may have other lessons that I missed.

I hope the light shines brighter for all of us.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5: 14 to 16)