Today’s editorial comes out of a sermon delivered some time ago by one of our contributors, Augustus Henry (PhD) who resides in Georgia, USA and who has given us permission to use some of the contents from that sermon.
The three words most used in greetings between people in the first week of a New Year are “health”, “wealth” and “strength/Peace”.
All of us want, and have been striving, one way or another, for the security these three words can provide. While many of us view health and strength/peace as important, having wealth (money) tops our wish list. In seeking financial security some of us will go to whatever lengths to have it.
But what about security from the left side? Now that’s a concept most of us have not given thought to. What does that mean.
Let us explain:
The story is told about a well-off man living in a big US city 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 evades the cameras, breaches the alarm system, and breaks 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 with the very weapon that he had purchased to protect his family. Not even his wealth could guarantee safety from the unsuspected, the left side.
As we plunged headfirst into 2024, be reminded that in our pursuit of money, for the type of security some of us crave, that we are pursuing an illusion.
We are just not good enough or rich enough or smart enough to provide ourselves total safety, and certainly not for the left side. 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 blindsided.
The Good Book tells us do not weary ourselves to gain wealth and cease from our consideration of it, for when we set our eyes on it, it is gone. According to Proverbs 23:4-5, wealth certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
Let’s be clear. We are not saying money is a tool we should not have. Afterall, money is needed in almost every transaction conducted by humans. Money can secure us many things; needful and sustainable things which all humans must have. However, be reminded that there is a realm where money is useless, and in that realm, we become helpless if we are not connected to a higher source. The place money disappoints most is in the unexpected, the unsuspected, the unseen and in your times of vulnerability against evil forces.
Also, 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 unpredictable 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 cannot create them. A wealthy basketballer once said, “some people are so poor, all they have is money.”
And so, as we step into 2024 to do our thing, live our lives, let us remember that God is our security for the left side. He is capable of handling our seen and unseen, predictable and unpredictable, our physical and spiritual. He is able to protect our children. He holds our safety in his hand.