Security

One of the most pressing needs following many types of disasters is security. Throughout most of America, Law Enforcement presents to criminals the threat of discovery, arrest and prosecution. No matter how seared a criminal's conscience may be, his self interest will often restrain him from many acts. As much as he may want to kill, the prospect of prison still holds him back. What we've seen over the last few decades, with incidents like The Dartmouth Murders, the Cheshire Home Invasion, and things like this horrific carjackings is that many criminals are starting to become more brazen and sadistic. Thankfully, these incidents are not quite common, and still tend to shock people. 

But we must consider - if your local law enforcement organization was disrupted and shut down how many criminally minded individuals, previously restrained out of fear of consequences, would rise up and prey on the weak and defenseless? My guess is many. Many times many. And if times got very hard how many "nice" but morally-anchorless people would start to consider theft and murder as viable self-preservation options? In most areas when there's civil disorder of any kind the looters come out in droves; they are reasonably sure they won't get in trouble for stealing. What if they could be reasonably sure they could kill without getting in trouble?

For this reason, among all the other important areas of preparedness, it is essential that security be seriously considered. There are an almost incredible number of ways to improve the security of your person, family, home, vehicle, business, and even neighborhood. Many are very passive in nature: avoid looking like a rich, oblivious victim, keep your doors locked, install motion sensing lights around your house, etc. But no matter what other steps you may take, if you want a truly effective security plan you must eventually develop the ability to effectively project lethal force. Lord Willing, you will never need to use that ability - but far better to have it and not need it than the reverse.

Now, many Christians will be uncomfortable with the idea of killing other people - even in defense of themselves or others. Some believe it's wrong - others believe it may be OK but still have a lot of hesitation and reservations in thinking about the topic. At one level, this is very good. Genesis 9 teaches that one reason murder is wrong is because we are made in the image of God; ANY exploration into the topic of lethal force must be done with this principle in mind. Further, unjustified killing is strictly forbidden throughout scripture. On the other hand, we must be careful not to try to be more Holy than God in this area. Samuel "hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord" (1 Sam 15:33). Phinehas used a spear to kill two fornicators and was strongly commended by God for it (Numbers 25:7-13). David used a sling and sword to kill and then decapitate Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Many of the heroes of the faith used lethal force - and many were commended by God for it. God is also the one that gives the victory and heroes like Gideon and Jonathan never would have prevailed in killing so many foes apart from God's delivering.

If you doubt that Christians can use lethal force to stop and attack, please go listen to these two messages: John Weaver on Self Defense and David Botkin on Self Defense.The first message is over an hour long; the second is a litttle less than half an hour. Not specifically about self defense, this sermon by Phil Kayser deals with individual responsibility - which is essential for Christians to understand as they discuss defense. 

Achieving a truly effective ability to project lethal force will require three main elements: mind-set, training, and weaponry. In nearly all the Biblical heroes who fought we can see these elements: David's mindset was solid (he was utterly convinced of his justification and need to confront Goliath - he also knew how to go about this), he was obviously skilled as a result of extensive practice, and he chose to use a capable weapon with which he had expertise.

Security must be taken seriously - but even as we may strive for really good physical security we must still keep in mind that it is God that gives victory, and that we are only talking about physical security. Our eternal security is still of vastly greater importance.