Security-Part 1-Social And Economical Series

A Series on ‘Security’….

Part I

Security on social and economic front

This time around, I would like to focus upon a subject which would interest all of us irrespective of our religious or denominational affiliation (within Christian circles) for who would not like to have …Security at all times. Dear friends, this was the buzzword in my family circles, when I decided to quit my “secure job” in the Indian Oil sector & enter into full-time work three years ago. Many honest doubts were expressed about my future prospects with a very gloomy picture of it being drawn at least initially by many who had never experienced God’s redemptive love, first-hand. Three years down the line I can herald from rooftops nay mountaintops that my God is a faithful God providing me all the security I need, in all the areas’ of my life.

Oxford dictionary may state the meaning of the word Security as ’condition or feeling that guards or guarantees our present & future’. In modern context, the moment we contemplate the word ’Security’ a picture of a smiling & healthy family in a well-furnished house protected by a proverbial ’ring of fire’ would emerge in our minds. There is absolutely nothing wrong in desiring to be well protected. Mind you, the good Lord in His wisdom has placed an instinct for ’self-preservation’ in His entire creation, leave alone mankind. This instinct is conspicuous in a tiny ant as well as in a mighty blue whale. Touch a tiny ant and its instinctive reaction, will be one of self-defense, the same applies to the largest creature in our planet, too. In fact this trait brings along with it stability & order in our society, for in its absence absolute confusion would prevail. Imagine our mind reeling at the sight of people playing with fire everywhere or reaching out to the overhead live electric wires or driving recklessly in our roads or wild animals venturing into our habitat & vice-versa.

Security (along with it the instinct for self-preservation), important as they are, was meant to bring man into closer relationship with his Creator. The one of joyous dependence on his Creator akin to that of a child on its parents (Psalm 50:15). However, what saddens our Creator is our tendency to seek security in everything under the sun, except in Him, not even acknowledging in the process that He is the source behind all the security surrounding us. How misplaced are our priorities when we say that our job or our business is the basis of our security, rather than the one who has given it to us in the first place. Our priorities are just as misplaced when we say that our Government or its laws, which ensure order in our society, are the sole providers of our security. Mind you, the Bible states emphatically that ’there is no government anywhere that God has not placed in power…’ (Romans 13:1). Take out the Truth, which is the cornerstone of any commercial deal in our world order & the economies world over would collapse like a pack of cards. The person who said ’I am the Truth’ (John 14:6) is the One who is holding together this world by putting in man some portion of his character, which oozes with ’truth’ & ’fairness’. When Bible says that God has created man ’in His own image’ (Genesis1:27), it means that not only do we bear physical resemblance to Him but emotionally & spiritually also we are like Him. That is why the moment we lie or act unfairly the bell of conscience starts ringing like an ’alarm bell’ because God’s holy nature in us has been violated. So, in every sphere of our life, if not for God, there would be no truth or fairness in dealings (Proverbs 16:11), which would lead to anarchy, breakdown of law & order & total absence of security.

Besides providing natural safeguards to protect mankind in general & placing in-built safety mechanisms to ensure our society safely as a whole moves in proper order like factory goods in a well-grooved assembly line, our God being a personal God rejoices in providing security to each one of his children, especially from the dangers brought about by circumstances or by people who have no respect for Him or His ordinances. The Bible abounds with cases of God providing extraordinary security to the lives/property/social & emotional well being of his people.

In this series (of 2 parts), I would like to bring to the fore such cases of God’s unique protection. One common feature, anyone would observe in all these cases (4 of them totally, but in this edition, I would touch upon 2 of them) is that in the Bible there is no mention of God’s direct involvement in these cases. In fact, the Bible does not even explicitly state in all these cases that God’s hand was there in deliverance of His people from their respective problems, so much so, there may be a temptation to attribute them all to pure coincidence or a stroke of fortune, however, for the spiritually discerning, His role would be a bit too obvious to miss! So what are those cases? For starters, in this Sermon, I would like to train my spotlight on God’s role in the social/emotional well-being & economic security of 2 women of the Old Testament. In those Patriarchal times, when women were certainly marginalized, as though to remind us all that God is one of equality, He has placed these two insightful stories, which are the very definition of God providing social and economic security to His dear ones’. Did somebody say ”Ladies first”…. so here goes… in a chronological order.