day 616: Added Security

“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.”

It seems that wherever you go these days there is added security. Many office buildings have always had some form of security but today they look more and more like Fort Knox. Even places that never had security before, now have added some low level protection. We have come to a place in time where we can’t trust, so we have to add on these extra layers. Unfortunately, the approach has a trickle-down effect and we all become a little more wary and insecure for fear that something could happen at any time. It has become hard to remember the days before access codes, badges, ID cards, sign in/out, etc. Where once we worked freely, today we are constantly reminded that things aren’t as secure as they may seem.

However, because we can’t trust others, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t trust at all. If we live and work with no trust at all we will find that the security barriers we build up around us will remove our approachability, cause us to be standoffish, and to be overly guarded. If we are that, then we risk losing our ability to establish relationships and also to be someone who others can reach to in time of need or friendship. We are told in 1 Corinthians to be guarded, but that is to guard our hearts from those things that remove our faith and courage. Where we need the extra security is against the areas of our lives where we are most vulnerable to fall away from our relationship with Christ. If we have that security built up then we will be safe to trust holistically and to allow ourselves to be a full person for ourselves and others. So, yes, add the extra guard, but do ensure that is only to build up the security that is from our faith.

Reference: 1 Corinthians 16:13 (New Living Testament)

Day 87: Security Guards

My first "professional" job was with a defense contractor who made airplane engines. I don't know why I was surprised by the high level of security in the plant in East Hartford, CT., but being a Midwestern boy with not a lot of exposure to the outside world, I marveled each day at the number of security guards at the gates, the doors, and wandering around on the plant floor. They were guarding "top secret" stuff. Today, we are used to both physical plant security and cyber-security. Intellectual property and company information is highly guarded with email monitoring systems, anti-virus programs, and prevention from hackers into networks. Companies have programs that are running all the time to guard against the company's reputation and what their employees do online in their free, and work, time. When it comes down to it, when we are at work, we are guarded in someway all the time. Sometimes protecting the company and other times protecting us from ourselves. While no one likes "big brother", it is not all bad to have someone else watching out and over us because, truth be told, we aren't very good as human beings at guarding ourselves. Our lack of self-imposed personal security shows up all the time in the mistakes of life. We continue to be upset by the co-worker whose marriage falls apart, or the person with who we know drinks a little too much and ends up with the DUI, or a myriad of bad judgement remarks or actions that can derail or ruin a person's reputation and career. How many times do we find ourselves reading or hearing something and we say to ourselves, "Didn't they know better"? We just aren't good at guarding ourselves. God tells us that we must be more diligent in this area. In Proverbs 4:23 we are told where to place the security guard in our lives, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." There it is, plain and simple. The security plan of life. If we guard our hearts, keeping ourselves as pure as we can, then we can know that the course of our life is on track and on purpose. Our heart is shaped by our thoughts, the intake into our mind, the words we hear and use, the influences we have around us. As you think about today and what is in front of you, can you see the places, meetings, interactions, where your heart must be guarded? Starting with this recognition and being prepared for the security breeches against your heart, can be life changing.

Reference: Proverbs 4:23 (New Living Testament)