on safety and security

"Every day, people make decisions influenced by a desire for security. Ask yourself, "To what degree are my employment decisions based on money or job security? Would I willingly confront an injustice in the workplace even if it might jeopardize my job? When I consider where I should live, how much of a factor is the safety and security of the neighborhood? Do I move toward new relationships or remain in unhealthy relationships because I clutch a measure of safety or security that they provide? Have I ever refused to do something that I felt God might be calling me to do because it felt too threatening, too unsafe?

None of us is immune to pressure from the false self to play it safe, to keep a hedge of security around us. The problem is, we become enamored with safety. When this occurs, pressing hard after the Lord's will, abandoning ourselves to the character of God, offering up our livelihoods and possessions to follow Jesus are seen as too romantic and risky. Though rarely voiced this bluntly, our fears can easily infect our motivations. We give lip service to the romantic while examining our choices through the eyes of culture, gravitating toward those options with the most safety and security. Thus, the manner in which we make choices is virtually indistinguishable in practice from the average non-Christian's method, except for the invocation of God's name to lend legitimacy. We mimic the world, and it's simply business as usual."

- Judith Hougen Transformed into Fire as she writes about our false self's quest to find security, esteem, and power in the things of the world rather than God.