Since when did safety become the ultimate value? I hear it all the time any more. It’s the theme of our TV shows, our laws, our society. It seems to be the one thing that overules everything else. No lie is too devious so long as it keeps a “loved one” safe. No law is too obtrusive if it will “save” a life. Since when did safety become more important than freedom? Why do we assume physical death is the worst that can happen, and therefore justify avoiding it at all costs? Why do we assume an early death is a “wasted” life? Because we have believed a lie.
Don’t get me wrong. I do value phisical life. But I don’t think it’s the ultimate goal. I don’t see it in the Bible. I don’t see it in the nature of God. I don’t see it in the life of Christ. In the Bible, I see God who would wipe all but one family from the face of the earth just to keep darkness from completely taking over. I see God allowing many lives lost in battle to prove the iniquity of one man’s disobedience. I see whole regions of people wiped out for God’s cause, including the children. Were those childrens’ lives lost? Or were they saved from something worse? I see all kinds of examples of people living dangerously, good people dying, because they weren’t kept safe.
We have become a society where saftey is the ultimate goal. We give up our freedoms for it. We give up our adventure for it. We give up our lives for it. We make saftey first and try to protect our children from the danger of anything. In the process, we make them afraid of everything. There are things worse than physical death, but we have believed the lie. We make physical safety the noblest value. And so, our spirits dry up in a slow, agonizing death, while our bodies live out a long and wasted life.
News Flash: If you are wanting to avoid the worst kind of death, the best saftey policy can be found in a 2000 year old book. Check out the part written by John. Section 3. Subsection 16