Safety as an Idol
Recently in Pine River, there's been a couple home-intrusion incidents. They are a very hot topic in the local news and an even hotter topic in that unofficial local news source: social media. The incident(s) involve a man who is described (in a nutshell) to be tall, of large berth, wearing black, angry, and from the sounds of it, entitled and confused. One house was targeted twice, and there have been other reports of the man wandering a few backyards and "creeping". So far, no one has been hurt or had anything stolen.
The response(s) to this news has really gotten me pondering more (eternally) important issues in our world besides the occasional breaking and entering, and evil things man can do. The incident has been "shared" and/or commented on thousands of times. People are admitting to being "paranoid" and in general, there is just a lot of fear running rampant, even among(st) believers.
"praying for your safety!"
"make sure you lock your doors and load your guns!"
"if they catch the creep we can all sleep at night..."
It got me thinking about how we (the church) handle "safety" in general. How many times have we heard prayer requests for "travel mercies" and "safety" from the pulpit? Every time someone is traveling further than 40 miles or so? Every time someone has a head cold or is having any kind of surgery? People! We are so focused on keeping (or controlling) our physical (temporal) well-being! We are very afraid of being unsafe.
As believers, Scripture is supposed to be our ultimate authority. Want to know what it says about fear?
Fear the Lord (like a gazillion times, in Proverbs, Psalms, the NT, in different ways, but all saying the same thing) and anytime fear is mentioned in regards to anything else, it's negative. As in,
Fear NOT.
In Hebrews 4, the writer says "let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it."
What are we to fear? If you read chapters 3 and 4, you can conclude that we are to fear not-entering God's rest. Not-trusting God's promises. Not-being in fellowship with Him. Not-being saved! Fear that!
Any of who? Believers! That's who this letter is written to!
Failed to reach what? The promised land of God's rest.
Sounds like a lifetime of living as fearful dogs, cowering before their master, never sure of when he's going to beat them again. Unfortunately, many people have this image of God the Father.
That kind of fear is not accurate though. Here's an illustration that makes sense to me:
As a kid, you were probably told (many times) not to play in the street. You were taught to fear the dangers that the street can hold. Particularly, getting run over by a vehicle. Did that ruin your childhood? Did fearing the street ruin your playtime in the backyard or on the sidewalk? No.
When did fear of the street come into play? When the ball bounced into the street and you were tempted to go get it. When other kids got to play in the street and you didn't. When a friend invited you to meet them on the other side. In other words, fear was a thing that shaped how you handled your various interactions with the street.
In the same way, fearing not-attaining-the-promises-of-God does not ruin our lives and mean that we live without security of our salvation. But we should be fearful of it when we are entering into sin/disobedience and not listening to Him. Because our God is not a tame lion. He is wrathful against the disobedient, because he is SO HOLY.
The illustration can only go so far (what about a crazy off-road driver who runs over a kid in his backyard? What about when we become adults and learn to abide by the rules of the road and are "in the street" all the time? And we certainly are capable of getting hurt in the backyard by other things, aren't we? Those questions aren't answered here, in this issue).
Imagine if we put as much time and energy into fearing God (the good kind of fear) as we put into keeping ourselves, our loved ones, and our stuff.... safe. We would shock the world by loving God and living so radically different.
Back to the local, recent events. And it gets personal. Consider it shock therapy! :)
What if your home was intruded by a big creepy guy? What if he was even possessed by a demon (which, upon reading the first story, was my first suspicion; that demonic activity is involved)? What is the worst thing that can happen to you?
imprisonment?
countless beatings?
whippings?
stoned and left for dead?
experiencing shipwrecks (or car crashes)?
danger from false "brothers"?
toil and hardship?
sleepless nights?
hunger and thirst?
exposure to the cold?
how about daily pressure of anxiety?
a thorn in the flesh?
a messenger of Satan to harass you?
Does that list sound familiar at all? Paul wrote about his life in Christ in 2 Corinthians 11-12 and concluded,
"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities! For when I am weak, then I am strong."
I had read the first story just before crawling into bed, and I confess, I asked Randy if the front door was locked (which I never do, and he asked why I was asking). Since then, I have been tempted to fear for the "safety" of our children in this home and our yard, or in the area. The first thought that is brought to mind when I hear a strange noise is fearful suspicion of malicious activity.
It's ridiculous.
So instead, I'm choosing to obey the command NOT to fear. What can man do to me? This choice doesn't come about by sheer willpower. For I am much more prone to give in to the temptation of fear when I have become complacent in my relationship with Jesus and have lost sight of Him and/or forgotten how wonderful He is.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey!
GOD.
IS.
SOVEREIGN.
What if ________ happens?
It's okay, and it doesn't change God's character.
The response(s) to this news has really gotten me pondering more (eternally) important issues in our world besides the occasional breaking and entering, and evil things man can do. The incident has been "shared" and/or commented on thousands of times. People are admitting to being "paranoid" and in general, there is just a lot of fear running rampant, even among(st) believers.
"praying for your safety!"
"make sure you lock your doors and load your guns!"
"if they catch the creep we can all sleep at night..."
It got me thinking about how we (the church) handle "safety" in general. How many times have we heard prayer requests for "travel mercies" and "safety" from the pulpit? Every time someone is traveling further than 40 miles or so? Every time someone has a head cold or is having any kind of surgery? People! We are so focused on keeping (or controlling) our physical (temporal) well-being! We are very afraid of being unsafe.
As believers, Scripture is supposed to be our ultimate authority. Want to know what it says about fear?
Fear the Lord (like a gazillion times, in Proverbs, Psalms, the NT, in different ways, but all saying the same thing) and anytime fear is mentioned in regards to anything else, it's negative. As in,
Fear NOT.
In Hebrews 4, the writer says "let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it."
What are we to fear? If you read chapters 3 and 4, you can conclude that we are to fear not-entering God's rest. Not-trusting God's promises. Not-being in fellowship with Him. Not-being saved! Fear that!
Any of who? Believers! That's who this letter is written to!
Failed to reach what? The promised land of God's rest.
Sounds like a lifetime of living as fearful dogs, cowering before their master, never sure of when he's going to beat them again. Unfortunately, many people have this image of God the Father.
That kind of fear is not accurate though. Here's an illustration that makes sense to me:
As a kid, you were probably told (many times) not to play in the street. You were taught to fear the dangers that the street can hold. Particularly, getting run over by a vehicle. Did that ruin your childhood? Did fearing the street ruin your playtime in the backyard or on the sidewalk? No.
When did fear of the street come into play? When the ball bounced into the street and you were tempted to go get it. When other kids got to play in the street and you didn't. When a friend invited you to meet them on the other side. In other words, fear was a thing that shaped how you handled your various interactions with the street.
In the same way, fearing not-attaining-the-promises-of-God does not ruin our lives and mean that we live without security of our salvation. But we should be fearful of it when we are entering into sin/disobedience and not listening to Him. Because our God is not a tame lion. He is wrathful against the disobedient, because he is SO HOLY.
The illustration can only go so far (what about a crazy off-road driver who runs over a kid in his backyard? What about when we become adults and learn to abide by the rules of the road and are "in the street" all the time? And we certainly are capable of getting hurt in the backyard by other things, aren't we? Those questions aren't answered here, in this issue).
Imagine if we put as much time and energy into fearing God (the good kind of fear) as we put into keeping ourselves, our loved ones, and our stuff.... safe. We would shock the world by loving God and living so radically different.
Back to the local, recent events. And it gets personal. Consider it shock therapy! :)
What if your home was intruded by a big creepy guy? What if he was even possessed by a demon (which, upon reading the first story, was my first suspicion; that demonic activity is involved)? What is the worst thing that can happen to you?
imprisonment?
countless beatings?
whippings?
stoned and left for dead?
experiencing shipwrecks (or car crashes)?
danger from false "brothers"?
toil and hardship?
sleepless nights?
hunger and thirst?
exposure to the cold?
how about daily pressure of anxiety?
a thorn in the flesh?
a messenger of Satan to harass you?
Does that list sound familiar at all? Paul wrote about his life in Christ in 2 Corinthians 11-12 and concluded,
"For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities! For when I am weak, then I am strong."
I had read the first story just before crawling into bed, and I confess, I asked Randy if the front door was locked (which I never do, and he asked why I was asking). Since then, I have been tempted to fear for the "safety" of our children in this home and our yard, or in the area. The first thought that is brought to mind when I hear a strange noise is fearful suspicion of malicious activity.
It's ridiculous.
So instead, I'm choosing to obey the command NOT to fear. What can man do to me? This choice doesn't come about by sheer willpower. For I am much more prone to give in to the temptation of fear when I have become complacent in my relationship with Jesus and have lost sight of Him and/or forgotten how wonderful He is.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey!
GOD.
IS.
SOVEREIGN.
What if ________ happens?
It's okay, and it doesn't change God's character.
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