Safety and Security

On Friday, we had security training all day.  We learned how to be "good" hostages, strategies for resisting assault, how to avoid carjackings, what to do in the case of riots, how to survive natural disasters, and preparation for sudden pandemics.  In addition to that, we learned about how to secure our belongings, avoid theft, and all the many ways that we can be attacked.


Now, it is important to remember that this training is given to all new mission personnel, regardless of where they are serving.  So, people who are going to countries where there is political instability, war, and frequent kidnappings are being trained right along with those of us going to countries that are relatively stable, like Zambia.  We are blessed to go to a country that does not have a seriously high crime rate; according to the United Nations Seventh Annual Survey on Crime, Zambia's crime rate is significantly lower than the crime rate in the United States.  This is a real blessing for our family, although we will be aware of safety issues, as we would anywhere that we reside.


However, safety in general is something I have been thinking about a lot lately.  Who has the right to be safe?  How is safety a function of privilege?  Why do I assume that my children should always be protected from violence, while other children face violence on a daily basis?  Sure, God wants all of us to be protected from abuse; God does not desire that any of us endure violence.  However, we need to recognize that our "right to safety" is actually a privilege in this world. 

bell hooks writes, "Dominator culture has tried to keep us all afraid, to make us choose safety instead of risk, sameness instead of diversity.  Moving through that fear, finding out what connects us, reveling in our differences; this is the process that brings us closer, that gives us a world of shared values, of meaningful community."  While I do desire safety and security for my family, I am comfortable with choosing risk, at times, so that we can live more fully and connect more deeply with God and with God's children.  I often find myself giving into fear, and so this is an on-going process for me.

The sermon on Sunday was taken from the book of Esther, speaking about the enormous risk that she took when she came before her husband, the king, in order to save the Jewish people from massacre. She faced immediate execution for daring to approach without invitation, but she did so anyways.  Our family does not face this kind of danger; in fact, we are going to a place where we are not afraid for our safety.  But it is my prayer that we take the risk of loving, learning, becoming vulnerable, facing our fears, and offering our selves, that God's love might grow in us, and radiate through us, more and more each day.  While training in "safety and security" is important, I hope we also learn the importance of "risk and vulnerability" in our lives, as well.