WHERE IS SAFETY?
Copyright © Jules Dervaes
May 5, 1984
There was once a young man who, with his father, farmed a little piece of land. One day they loaded up the ox-cart with vegetables and drove off to the nearest city. The son, who was very concerned about his future and became very upset at the thought of losing any money, figured that if they kept going all day and all night they’d get to the market by the next morning. He walked alongside the ox and kept prodding it with a stick.
“Take it easy,” said the old man, “you’ll last longer.”
“If we get to the market ahead of the others,” said the son, “we’ll have a better chance of getting good prices.”
They came to a fork in the road. The old man directed the ox to the right.
“The left is the shorter way,” said the boy.
“I know it,” said the old man. “But this way is prettier.”
The boy was so anxious watching the sun sink, he didn’t notice how lovely the sunset was. Twilight found them in what looked like one big garden.
“Let’s sleep here,” said the old man.
“This is the last time I take a trip with you,” snapped the son. “You’re more interested in flowers than in making money.”
In the morning they came upon a farmer trying to pull his cart out of the ditch.
“Let’s give him a hand,” said the father.
“And lose more time and money?” exploded the son.
“Relax,” said the old man. “You might be in a ditch sometime yourself.”
By the time the other cart was back on the road, it was 8 o’clock. Suddenly a great flash of lightning split the sky. Then there was thunder. Beyond the hills the heavens grew dark.
“Looks like a big rain storm in the city,” said the old man.
“If we had been on time, we’d be sold out by now and would have made a huge profit,” grumbled the son.
“Take it easy,” said the old gentleman. “You’ll last longer.”
It wasn’t until late in the afternoon that they got to the top of the hill overlooking the town. Stunned, they looked down on it for a long, long time. Neither of them spoke.
TO BE CONTINUED…
How safe and secure are you today? One of the greatest concerns that we as a nation and as individuals have in this age is safety and security. A lot of our efforts, both physical and mental, go toward making our lives safe. We can get so safety conscious, so security minded, that this drive can dominate our lives. When we don’t get that need satisfied, then anxiety and worry will take over.
There was once a people who had as their aim to build a secure future, single- mindedly pursuing personal safety, because they were living in a critical time following the worst disaster the world had ever seen. Their forefathers had experienced a catastrophe of epic proportions. And now they were scared and scarred by the memories of nature gone berserk. Vivid tales of the horrendous destruction circulated among the populace. The possiblity that this danger would happen again preoccupied their thoughts. They would take no chance; they were determined to be prepared for such an emergency. Evacuation was useless, so their energies, time, money, talents, and thoughts were invested in one super, futuristic project. From the capital city’s downtown area rose the awesome form of what was to be the pilot of many skyscrapers. The city manager and planner was very proud because this would put his city on the map. It now would be the safest place to live on the entire earth. The survival of the urban population need not depend on anyone else. As the building went up floor by floor the city dwellers began to feel more at ease. The higher it got the more confident they were that at last this was the safety they craved. As any person would have done they had looked at the previous catastrophe and were taking precautions to prevent any reoccurrence. They planned on building above the high water mark of the massive flood and they were making the structure waterproof. Their hopes of survival were pinned on this skyscraper; their future was tied to this tower.
Do you know what the Tower of Babel was? It was a tower of safety for the descendants of the survivors of the great deluge. They did not trust God neither did they live according to His laws. Anxious and willing to try anything, going to great “heights”–anything, except obey and believe God. They turned to their own resources and directed their energies to a physical safety mechanism. Not to changing and becoming better, but to building an insurance system. If God decided to punish the world again, this time, they would be ready. They would have their tower, a place of safety in their own backyard… just in case.
Today the world is just as bad, but maybe not so obvious. People place their confidence in the financial institutions, the economic system, and world governmental agencies. Take a look at the outline of the city of New York–people are basing their security on what they have stored up for the future. The search for safety goes on, and on, and on.
How do you spell safety? Here is a personal safety code for you to live by;
The A – B – Cs of being truly safe:
A. Attach yourself to nothing. Make sure that you’re attached to no–things. Do you realize that we all are tower builders!!! And when we become strongly attached to them, that is idolatry. We set up towers of job, CD, property, and we can’t see God for all the high towers that stand in the way. Sometimes those attachments are so strong that the dynamite of a crisis is needed to topple the towers and set one free to find God.
B. Build your future with God. There should be a building process going on, one where you become less and less dependent on physical signs and more and more on God. Scrap that material junk. If you are looking for a terrific investment for the future, something you can sink all your efforts into, invest not in a ‘piece of the rock’ but, instead, invest all you’ve got in the ROCK of PEACE. There is only one tower that is the source of true safety. King David found that tower and so can you.
Build your future spiritually. Direct your time and energy into constructing floors of prayer and Bible study.
C. Cast your cares on God. In other words, “forget it.” Our anxiety is a slap in God’s face. Continual worry and love of God do not mix. If you’re putting into practice A and B then C should follow. If it doesn’t, that is a red light and a buzzer, the test has failed, and you must go back and examine any weakness in A and B.
When one tower collapses, what happens? If you find yourself fretting, check your attachment to it. When one crumbles, if you go to pieces, check which rock you are building on. Worry is a sign that shows we have a tower coming down, and we are trying to prop it up.
There is only one place where safety begins–it begins at the house of God. You can be the safest person in the world if you put this safety code into effect. Do it now because, if you don’t, you’ll be holding a lot of worthless real estate. You’ll be stuck with the ruins of all your wasted physical towers. Make sure you know where real safety is. Soon God will test each one of us to make sure we are looking to Him as the only tower of safety.
Now back to the conclusion of the story. There is a lesson here to learn: How temporary are the things around us! And, how our sights should be on what is of higher value than material existence! Consider this outcome:
TO CONTINUE…
[By the time they helped the other cart back on the road it was almost 8 o’clock. Suddenly, a great flash of lightning split the sky. Then there was thunder. Beyond the hills the heavens grew dark.
“Looks like a big rain storm in the city,” said the old man.
“If we had been there on time we’d be sold out by now and would have made a huge profit,” grumbled the son.
“Take it easy,” said the old gentleman. “You’ll last longer.”
It wasn’t until late in the afternoon that they got to the top of the hill overlooking the town. Stunned, they looked down on it for a long, long time. Neither of them spoke.]
Finally, the son who had been in such a hurry to make a living whispered, “I SEE! I SEE what you mean, Father!” Then they turned the cart around and drove away from what had once been the city. Yes–they turned away and left what had once been the city of Hiroshima, Japan.