ONUC Peacekeeper in Congo Deploys to Combat Zone, UN Photo/Marie Frechon

Most days, I read news about Africa and Ghana. I also subscribe to a very small number of blogs. Among them is a blog by an American living overseas. I don’t think the author is a believer, but she is much better than I am at putting into words what it is like to live and work in a very different culture and context. Sometimes, it is like I am reading my own life. That is how I found the choice quote below. The author decided to go live in a very dangerous country. Her American friends were shocked. She writes her responses to the questions people asked when she visited the US, including the question: “Were you safe?”. (The emphasis is mine.)

Of course we were safe. Of course we were not safe. How could we know? Nothing happens until it happens. People get shot at schools in the United States, in movie theaters, office buildings. People are diagnosed with cancer. Drunk drivers hurtle down country roads. Lightning flashes, levees break, dogs bite. Safety is a Western illusion crafted into an idol…

Camp for displaced people in eastern Congo, UN Photo/Endre Vestvik

It seems to me that safety is one of the great quests of Western society – safer highways, safer food, safer water, an environment that does not contain toxic threats, less violent crime, children protected from sexual predators, etc. Of course, all of these quests are more than good – they are noble. However…

The horrors of the acts of ISIS cause American Christians fear for their political system, freedom and safety. They demand political and often military responses. So far so good. But…

We live in this world, but we don’t act like its people or fight our battles with the weapons of this world. Instead, we use God’s power that can destroy fortresses.
II Cor 10:3-4

When our reaction is the same as the people of this world, we need to stop and pray. Are we deploying God’s weapons – prayer, missions and evangelism? Has our concern for safety and our way of life overwritten our faith? Are we following Jesus’ approach to personal safety?

Seeking safety causes us to draw in and cut off. So one of the first reactions to Ebola was to proposed cutting off flights to affected countries. But our God does not draw in and cut off. Quite the contrary; he seeks out. He moves towards those in danger. The Jesus who left the safety of heaven and was killed said:

“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
John 20:21

Camp for displaced people, photo Julien Harneis

When we are back in the US for a short stay we get asked if we are safe. In some ways, it’s an impossible question. For a while, Dayle and I worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo, just at the end of a civil war that claimed more civilian lives than any war since WWII. I flew into airstrips controlled by rebel forces where very young soldiers greeted us with assault rifles. I had a drunk soldier with an assault rifle stop us and use his weapon to extort a little money from us. A missionary in the area was recently shot by bandits.

Was I safe? Well, I’m writing this!

Is being safe what actually happens or is it the degree of threat I feel? People who feel perfectly safe end up dead or maimed every day. Every day, people who fear for their safety with good reason finish the day alive and well. Which of them was really safe?

Was it safe to go to the Congo? I’m not sure. Did God keep me safe in the Congo? Obviously.

Safety is a Western illusion crafted into an idol

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you
Psalm 56:3

I trust in the Lord for protection.
So why do you say to me,
“Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!
Psalm 11:1