I had the opportunity to witness a S.A.F.E. (Students All For Education) graduation this morning at one of our local schools. A group of 5th graders had been learning about making wise choices and keeping good habits to benefit them throughout life. This program was taught by the county sheriff's department and sought to teach about drugs, alcohol, violence, anger, stress, and other issues that can be so troubling. The idea is to help students learn how to keep themselves safe in a treacherous world.
Safety is one of our primary needs. We all know how anxious it feels to be placed into a situation where we do not feel safe. Though the officers were teaching about things like drugs, gangs, and the like, there are all kinds of places where surprisingly we don't feel safe. This might be due to another person, environment, event, or some other situation.
This really came true for me a couple years ago when I had done something in church that rocked the boat. I thought it was a great idea but for some reason, it didn't work in my setting at the time. I remember going to one of my mentors and pouring out my soul about it. His words were something to the effect of, "It might have been a good idea, but was it safe?" Safe? It was a church activity of all things! He went on to say that one of the first things people will discern when entering into a new situation or environment is if it is safe or not.
The more familiar we are with something will dramatically improve our location on the safe meter. We cannot, however, take this for granted for those who are not as familiar with our church, home, school, business, hangout, etc. We simply need to be mindful about creating an environment, and giving folks the opportunity to answer for themselves, "Is this safe?"
The S.A.F.E. program was all about helping pre-teens make good decisions, but this is something from which we all can learn. Proverbs 28.18 says, "He whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but he whose ways are perverse will suddenly fall." May we live our lives in such a way that we stay in the realm of safety. For those who have the power to help shape environments and experiences, may we do our part to practice meaningful hospitality to help make people feel as safe and comfortable as possible. And when we find ourselves feeling uncomfortable, may we remember, "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18.10)
In God we can always feels safe and comfortable. May we live our lives in faith trusting Him and knowing there is always safety in Him.
From the hymn, Leaning On The Everlasting Arms:
What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms.
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.
Safety is one of our primary needs. We all know how anxious it feels to be placed into a situation where we do not feel safe. Though the officers were teaching about things like drugs, gangs, and the like, there are all kinds of places where surprisingly we don't feel safe. This might be due to another person, environment, event, or some other situation.
This really came true for me a couple years ago when I had done something in church that rocked the boat. I thought it was a great idea but for some reason, it didn't work in my setting at the time. I remember going to one of my mentors and pouring out my soul about it. His words were something to the effect of, "It might have been a good idea, but was it safe?" Safe? It was a church activity of all things! He went on to say that one of the first things people will discern when entering into a new situation or environment is if it is safe or not.
The more familiar we are with something will dramatically improve our location on the safe meter. We cannot, however, take this for granted for those who are not as familiar with our church, home, school, business, hangout, etc. We simply need to be mindful about creating an environment, and giving folks the opportunity to answer for themselves, "Is this safe?"
The S.A.F.E. program was all about helping pre-teens make good decisions, but this is something from which we all can learn. Proverbs 28.18 says, "He whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but he whose ways are perverse will suddenly fall." May we live our lives in such a way that we stay in the realm of safety. For those who have the power to help shape environments and experiences, may we do our part to practice meaningful hospitality to help make people feel as safe and comfortable as possible. And when we find ourselves feeling uncomfortable, may we remember, "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18.10)
In God we can always feels safe and comfortable. May we live our lives in faith trusting Him and knowing there is always safety in Him.
From the hymn, Leaning On The Everlasting Arms:
What have I to dread, what have I to fear, leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on the everlasting arms.
Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.
1 comment:
The day after writing this post, I had a woman call me regarding officiating her wedding ceremony. She was brought up in the UMC but does not have (nor really want, I gather) a relationship with a United Methodist Church. She does, however, want a Christian wedding ceremony. She told me she scanned multiple web sites for UMCs in the area and decided to call me because our web site seemed "safe". No kidding! Kudos to Pastor Shannon for creating the kind of web site the church needs (see the 'Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes' post).
Post a Comment