Sermon Feb. 26, 2006

This sermon was preached just before we left for Japan so I am late getting it posted.

The Faith Full Family:
The Idol of Security
John 15:18-20; Matt. 10:37-39

Introduction: The world is a dangerous place. It doesn’t take a great observer of our world to come to that conclusion. Is it more dangerous for us today than for our grandparents or great grandparents? Probably not. The world doesn’t seem all that dangerous until we begin to have children. When we are young and unattached then the world is exciting and challenging. But parenthood changes us in profound ways. You start thinking about safety ratings and the advantages of minivans over sports cars.

Security, it is something we all want and need. No one wants to live in fear and yet it seems that people who worry about security live in constant fear, a fear that can make them prisoners in the fortresses they build.

I. Fortress Christianity
Fortresses are built out of fear and a desire for security. High walls and moats characterized ancient fortresses. Today we find alarm systems and other high tech means of protection. Security, it seems, has become an obsession in America. Certainly, since 9/11 it has become one of the greatest concerns of our government. The recent controversy over the Arab Emirates running some of our major ports shows how critical it is. Some of you remember the Star Wars missile defense system that was to protect us. Our state legislature is now considering laws that would allow citizens to use guns and deadly force if they feel threatened. More guns mean greater security doesn’t it?

Christians and churches build fortresses also. Some of it grows out of fear of the world and its contamination. We live in a world of drug dealers and predators, where violence seems too close to the surface in our society. Our children are vulnerable and as parents and as a church we want to protect them. And let’s face it; fortresses make our job as parents easier. When we build a safe place then we don’t have to pay so much attention to our children.

The thing about much of this, whether it is our national, personal or spiritual security, is that it is driven by fear. Fear cannot only paralyze us but it can also lead us to do things that are ungodly at best and evil at worst. Fear can cause us to neglect people who are poorer than us. Fear can cause us to avoid people who are different than us, whose customs make us feel funny. Fear can stop us from doing the work to which God is trying to lead us. Fear causes us to not trust God, to say, “God can’t protect us so we build fortresses that can.”

I want you to understand; I am not saying we should not protect our children. We should and need to protect them, which is part of the task God has given parents. But when we do it out of fear, out of a lack of trust in God, we fall into the trap of giving the enemy more credit than we do God. This is when security becomes an idol that keeps us from following God.

II. A Different Kind of Security
The problem with fortresses is that they not only keep things out, they keep things in also. We are not meant to live our lives in prisons. I think this is one reason children sometimes rebel; they want out; they want to experience life. Yes, life is sometimes scary and dangerous but it is also exciting. Some years ago a family that lived in the borderland between Russia and Germany had a son. During WWII the Germans first occupied the land and later the Russians. Each time they were looking for young men to work in their factories or fight in their wars. So the family hid the son in the attic. They hid him so well that no one, even people in the village, knew the son existed. His parents died and his sister cared for him. Finally she died and he was forced to leave the attic. The danger that had forced him into hiding had long passed but fear had kept him there. He exited the attic after 57 years, an old man whose life had literally passed him by.

Stanley Hauerwas said this shortly after 9/11, "It's hard to remember that Jesus did not come to make us safe, but rather to make us disciples.”[1] It is easy for us to forget this, to glaze over the words of Jesus, "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39) Discipleship is about following Jesus, not safety and security. Following Jesus is down right dangerous and he warned his followers, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19)

This does not mean we are without protection or that God does not care for us. Paul understood that our lives are the most secure in the world, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3) That knowledge allowed Christians to dare and to risk in ways that the world has difficulty understanding. Every attempt the Roman Empire made to intimidate and kill Christians failed to stop them from following Jesus. It wasn’t that they were stronger than us or smarter. They did have a faith, a love that had no place for fear. As John later wrote, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,” (1 John 4:18).
We are meant to live in the world in order to serve the world, minister and teach just like Jesus. His prayer for the disciples and for us is, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” (John 17:15) God provides the protection we need from the evil one but he doesn’t take us out of the world, we are here for the salvation of the world. We don’t do our children or ourselves any favors when we build fortresses that keep us from the world God wants us to serve.

No one was meant to live his or her life in an attic. Yet fear causes many people to live that way. It may be fear of the world, fear of failure, fear of others’ opinions, or any fear that binds our hearts. God desires so much for us, to bless us, to use us for his purposes. But faith is required; faith to serve and minister to a world that desperately needs Jesus.

An unknown missionary penned these words, “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn't really matter.”[2] Let’s not allow the idol of security to imprison us, limit us to things that don’t really matter. Let’s make our lives count for God.


Livonia Church of Christ: February 26, 2006

[1] Religion News Service, "Book Probes Post-Sept. 11 Spirituality," by Douglas Todd, (8-27-02)
[2] New Tribes Missionary (author unknown), Eternal Perspectives Newsletter (Fall 2003), p. 15