By Augustus Henry (PhD.)
THE account is about a well-off man living in Detroit Michigan, USA, who decided to do all he could to protect his family from a recent rise in criminal activity in that city. He hired a security firm. He placed cameras all around his property. He contracted with the most notable security company in the country to install and manage his alarm system. That father and husband did not think that was enough, so he placed burglar bars on the windows. Then the man asked himself, what if a criminal evaded the cam-eras, breached the alarm system, and broke the bars? So, the concerned father got two pistols and a rifle.
One night, as he was fast asleep, he was awakened by an ugly loud blast. Recovering from his sleepy daze, he realized that his wife lying next to him was motionless. Feeling around in the darkness, he noticed that the bed was drenched in some warm liquid, blood. As he stumbled to his feet and turned the lights on to assess the situation, there in his bedroom, his 16-year-old son with the new rifle had blasted his mother’s brain out of her head. The very weapon that he had purchased to protect his family destroyed it. Not even his wealth could guarantee safety from the unsuspected, the left side. That’s why we need security for the left side.
The illusion of money as security
We are just not good enough or rich enough or smart enough to provide ourselves total safety, and certainly not for the left side. The bible says, “give us help oh Lord, for vain is the help of man” (Ps. 60:11). We have come to depend heavily on the systems of man for our security. So much so that we become hopeless when they fail to protect us. We invest so much trust in our resources and rely so deeply on human systems that when the unexpected or unpredictable occurs, we are totally blind-sided.
Money, phony security
The first time I had 20 thousand dollars saved, the things I did. I would wake up in the middle of the night to contemplate that financial accomplishment. I often pulled my bank account up on my phone just to admire the money. I also found satisfaction in the notion that my family was more financially secured.
Money is one of those things: when our bank account begins to look good, we start to feel solid ground under our feet. However, having such assets gives the illusion of safety. But how instantly that security evaporates when you lose a job or sickness strikes? My wife had surgery a couple of years ago. She was in the hospital for 2 ½ days. When we received the hospital bill, it was $54,000, enough to ruin someone’s financial stability – how much security does that $20 thousand give now. You can have $200 thousand in the bank and one illness could wipe it out.
Do not weary yourself to gain wealth. Cease from your consideration of it for when you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies towards the heavens (Proverbs 23:4-5). The bible says do not trust in your money for when you think you are standing, it will pull the rug right from under your feet. Many say, if I had a little money, the things I would do. Yeah, but money can do more to you than you can do with it. Money can secure us in many things. But there is a realm where it is useless; and in that realm we become helpless if we are not connected to a high-er source. The place money disappoints most is in the unexpected, the unsuspected, the unseen and in your times of vulnerability against evil forces.
Money is not an effective weapon in spiritual warfare.
If money is your hope, what will you do when that devil comes after you or your children?
What happens when he comes for your spouse or even your relationship?
If your child is hooked on drugs, how much cash will save him?
If money is your rock, where do you stand when you begin to lose your mind?
Like the man earlier in the story, if you put your hope in wealth, where will you turn when the unpre-dictable happens?
If you are waiting to get rich to be happy and secured, you will wait forever, because money can only amplify hope, safety, and love, it can’t create them. A wealthy basketballer once said, “some people are so poor, all they have is money.”
With hope in God all things are possible.
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God (2Cor. 9: 10-11,).
God is your security from the left side.
God is capable of handling our seen and unseen, predictable and unpredictable, our physical and spir-itual. He is able to protect your children. He holds your safety in his hand. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day. It is good to memorize scripture for your own peace of mind. One verse I use in time of fear: I will look unto the hills from where comes my help. My help comes from the Lord who has made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved. He that keeps thee will not slumber. The Lord is thy keeper. The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun will not smite you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil. He shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and even forevermore (Ps. 121).