“Ooh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he–quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.” “That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver. “If there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.” “Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy. “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” –CS Lewis, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
I really love that quote, the whole chapter really. I’ve often thought that one of the biggest blights on the potato of the modern Christian West is our obsession with safety. And I say that as a totally risk adverse, safety oriented person. That said, I am keenly aware that this can also be a sinful state of being, that we can build safety prisons, erect massive idols to our own fears, and encase ourselves in a bubble.
Chuckling here, but this dear pastor likes to say, “Don’t you want to take your faith to the next level? Don’t we all want to grow?” Uhm, no! I’ve been around the block a few times, I know exactly what “growth” entails. Ima gonna just hang out on my little plateau for a while. Y’all go on without me.
So you see, I actually do have a certificate in risk aversion, a credential if you will. I totally get it. I’m a bit of a comfort and safety hedonist myself. Don’t rock the boat. Wear your lifejacket. Use your hand sanitizer. Drink plenty of water. Take your vitamins.
That said, once we’ve attained our little safety bubble, we just stop living. We are a bit like plants, you’re either growing or you’re dying. There is no place of suspended animation where you can just avoid all risk and choose to not grow.
I’ve been sitting in this lockdown pondering these things, pondering the whole idea of “stay home, stay safe.” I don’t wish to sound too nihilistic or gloomy, but once you lose your job, your business, your church, and you are separated from your family, prevented from engaging in your activities, unable to innovate and create and prosper, what exactly is our purpose? What are we actually “living” for? What is the purpose of all this “safety?”
Life is messy and dangerous, it comes with great risk, it is uncomfortable, and sometimes quite painful. There is often a bunch of suffering involved. Jesus came to give us life and life abundant…..not safety. He didn’t promise us a risk free existence. In fact, the precise opposite, He promised us trouble and grief. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
I am exasperated, frustrated, aggravated, by much of Western Christianity in general. I have been for a long time. We often look just like the world! We are like tenured pew sitters or members of the rotary club or something. Comfortable Christians, Christians for the sake of safety, political safety, social safety, and cultural and relationship safety. And certainly Christians so we will be safe from our own feelings.
We people were deliberately designed for risk, for challenge, for danger. Seriously! You wouldn’t know it in our modern world full airbags, anti bacterial wipes, and pills for every imaginable discomfort, but it’s the truth. When we are unable to channel our need to conquer, our drive to take risks, to innovate and create in positive ways, we simply find outlets in negative ways. Drugs, alcohol, crime. Porn, prescription drugs, hook up culture, adultery, you name it, we’ll find it. Tragically, a good chunk of us don’t even know what we’re looking for. That’s why we call it being “lost.”
“Safety” is actually deadly for human beings. Too much “safety” tends to create some real life threatening situations because we are forced to try to suppress our own biology, our own design, forced to deny who we are inside, even shamed and taught that it’s wrong to desire such things.
I talked a woman the other day having her morning vodka and orange juice. That’s a quarantini. Do you know how much day drinking has been brought on by this whole quarantine thing? A ton. It’s a huge issue. Our spirits know when something is all wrong and we often seek to anesthetize ourselves from the truth, from the things we falsely believe we are powerless to do anything about.
The pursuit of safety is not life and life abundant, it is not what Jesus taught us, and it is not a desirable state of being. It is also contrary to human biology and there are consequences to pursuing it.
I share your sentiments! I had to keep busy being creative during this time, went a little kooky for a minute there. I’m already prone to social distancing because of my introversion but I realized during this time, how rebellious I became in order to be social! hugs and kisses aren’t safe but they are just what we need. When considering the vulnerability of it, love is actually not safe at all.
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Right?! I am also prone to isolate and to just remain an introvert for like, forever. Just the same, I’ve really felt the Lord telling me that very thing, “love isn’t safe.” Get out there and love some people.
Really precious, when this all first happened, I was accosted by an elderly woman in the grocery store wanting a hug. I tried to discourage her, I tried to escape, but she assured me we’re all going to die anyway. That’s a healthy attitude and she’s pushing 90, so I figured she’s entitled to the risk of a hug. 🙂
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“Love is not safe at all”. TRUTH!
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Amen! 🙂
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This reminds me of several Star Trek episodes in which Captain Kirk expounds on the human need to explore, to take risks, to do more than merely survive. As for the comforts of western Christianity, I’ve recently been reading the essays Soren Kierkegaard wrote shortly before he died. He confronts Biblical Christianity with Christendom and concludes that the two of them are not the same–not even close.
All that said, I can see that there are two extremes: too much safety at the cost of living a real life, and too much risk-taking. But there is a wide middle way between the two. I hope soon people can get past the point of viewing a narrow path down the middle and hurling frantic warnings at those who are taken another path on middle way that might be a tiny bit closer to one extreme or the other. Just my five cents worth. J.
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Here where I live we have this huge division, retired homeowners versus local kids. So if you grow up here, you soon learn that home ownership is out of the question, as is getting a good job or opening a business. There’s a lot of risk, challenge, danger in starting a business for example. If your efforts to channel your need for risk in positive directions is forever thwarted, then the risks of things like drugs, alcohol, and car crashes begins to take over. I’m not sure if there is such a thing as “too much risk taking,” but there is certainly productive or positive risk taking versus self destructive and meaningless risk taking.
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Oh, I understand that. But I’m thinking about some of the other issues involving risks and safety–seat belts, motorcycle helmets, and now cloth masks. I’ve always required every passenger in the car I’m driving to use the seat belt. But I don’t shout at people in other cars if they’re not wearing seat belts. J.
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LOL! A bit funny Salvageable, I also encourage everyone to wear a seatbelt when I’m driving, especially if you’re under 18. But a few times people have told me, I’m over 18, it’s my life, and it’s my ticket. And they were absolutely right!
Ironically my mother who would never buckle up when I asked her nicely, now responds immediately to, “makes no difference to me, it’s your ticket.” 🙂
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Salvageable, you could get in an accident yelling at other people while driving. Just sayin’ …
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My definition of “too much risk taking” is taking risks for stupid reasons – showing off, for instance. To save someone’s life is worth risking one’s own life, but a moment of being “cool” certainly isn’t.
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Re – What is the purpose of all this “safety?”
The governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. This can be seen in the Declaration of Independence, and it means that the people run the government. It’s past time for the governed to wake up and call out these birds for the unconstitutional actions they’re imposing.
“Any people that would give up liberty for a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin
“Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.” Thomas Jefferson
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Amen, Partnering! “Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.” It still is true today.
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You know IB…I, like you, like my comfort zone…but through all of this mess, I have not been afraid.
I don’t wear a mask out.
I ventured to the grocery store and Target throughout all of this…I was never fearful.
I’d lysol myself down for my daughter-n-law’s peace of mind because of the grandkids—but
I just thought if this was how God wanted me go, then so be it.
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Exactly! I firmly believe that I’m not going to leave this world one moment before God is ready to call me home. And I won’t stick around (don’t WANT to stick around) one moment longer. I’m not sure where my mental health would be if I didn’t have my faith, but I do, so fear is not a problem here.
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I know— my faith is all that truly keeps me sane during this ridiculous madness
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Right!? It is totally reasonable to wash your hands frequently, even to wear a mask if you like! What is not reasonable is the fear mongering and hyperbole. Also, let’s stay safe and healthy as much as possible, but there’s a really good reason why we honor our saints, as those who often took great risk and even lost their lives in the process. Nothing about our faith is built around preserving our own comfort and safety.
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Indeed— sounds like another good post in the making!!!
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“The pursuit of safety is not life and life abundant, it is not what Jesus taught us, and it is not a desirable state of being.” AMEN!
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” – Heb. 10:31
“Do you know how much day drinking has been brought on by this whole quarantine thing?” Liquor Stores and Pot Dispensaries are primary “essential’ businesses, never to be closed? Mmmm!
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Yep, we can get all the pot and liquor we want! The Gov knows perfectly well if they tried to shut those down we’d all riot. It’s not exactly a testament to the strength of our faith that we simply allowed churches to be shut down without a whimper. I don’t wish to point fingers or shame people who made a decision to shut down for what they believe is the common good, I’m just saying it reveals an unpleasant truth about us as a people overall and what we truly value as “essential.”
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Thanks to the lying scum in the MSM and the secrecy levels that most State governments are imposing right now, it’s impossible to get reliable statistics on the human toll that these actions have caused. I’ll bet it’s extensive, otherwise the Elites wouldn’t be hiding the numbers.
The Trump Administration did report in April that preliminary reports are showing that narcotics overdose deaths have jumped at least 17% since the Lockdown started.
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You hit a home run! We are so safe, we are bored to tears (suicide, depression, alcohol, porn). I’m talking about “nice” people. Really run with Jesus, listen and obey, you’ll find adventure galore. No longer will you have to run on the edge of evil.
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Amen, Oneta! We really are so “safe,” we are bored to tears and then we get ourselves into all kinds of trouble. Jesus really is quite the adventure and He knows just what we need.
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I venture out once a week to buy groceries. I rarely cover my face because I can’t breathe if I do. Instead I wear a bandana around my neck and pull it up if I have to cough or sneeze. I don’t wear gloves, because my hands get sweaty inside and it’s hard to get them off. I wash my hands when I get home, but since I’m over 70, I’m not really afraid of germs. In fact, I’ve been exposed to so many by now that my immune system is in pretty good shape. I’m not a risk taker, but I fear if we cover up too much and over protect, we’re opening doors that will make it even more difficult to withstand the next germ that comes along.
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Good point Kathy, about being exposed to germs and having your immune system in good shape. It’s really true, we build up our immune system muscles by exercising it.
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Preach it girl! Just awesome IB, so well said.
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All of these people sitting at home thinking that they’re smart and safe ought to reflect on one simple fact: The only reason that they’re at home right now is because some politician and the mad scientists advising him decided that they were ‘nonessential.’
How safe does that make you feel? Whenever a government decides that some group is ‘nonessential’, the safest thing for that group to do is put as much distance between themselves and that government as possible. I have a feeling that States that didn’t lock down or that opened early are about to get an influx of refugees.
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Danger Will Robinson! Danger! Be Brave! Face the risk. Cook at HOME! I’ve been making bread and if that isn’t looking Death in the face, I don’t know what is. You know how much can go wrong baking bread? How about chili? What if you added too many hot peppers? And then there’s, hyperventilating, PIE! Would you rather free-climb El Capitan or make a pie? Where’s my climbing shoes and chalk?
I have been watching stupid stunts on Facebook and Youtube. People trying to leap a car in a canoe pulled across the ground by a pickup truck. Broken bones ensue. I find weeding my rose garden intimidating. (Thorns and chiggers.) I live on the edge! I let my husband barbecue steaks last night. He has no sense of time and will burn one side and then casually turn it over and burn the other side. It makes a wooden thud when it hits the plate. I eat it anyway! Though he did pretty well last night and I survived. I put my family and myself at risk every foray outside of my bedroom, and yet I face this every day. No keeping ME down. Nosirree! Bring on the risks. Who knows, I may venture out my front door. (Plays Star Trek theme)
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LOL! That was adorable. Well done. There is plenty of risk to be found at home, most which does not involve broken bones. 🙂
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@IB
GREAT. POST!
Safe from what? When politicians want to make us safe, that should be our first question. If whatever they propose makes us safer from them, their proposal already has a big defect.
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I looked safety dead in the eye the other day and it was exhilarating. I was waiting in line at the drive-thru, you know where they make you pull forward because your order isn’t ready? There was a car in front of me also parked. The fast food manager came out and handed that guy his food, but you could tell the order wasn’t right when he sent the manager back in the restaurant. Then, the man in the drive-thru in front of me got out of his car with the fast food bag and drinks and brought it back to my car window (no mask, no gloves) and asked if it was our order. It was. We took it from him and said thank you. He had touched the bag, it had been in his car for a total of 30 seconds…Who knows…I could be dead by Tuesday, but sometimes you just need those french fries. LOL Carry on!
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This is so great!! I love how you brought up the danger of living “safely” it is so true in this world of requirements. I like how you tied it altogether with Christianity as well. I will continue reading your blog thanks for the inspirational read! 🙂
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Such a creative thought
Thanks for sharing 💜😊😊
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