The Problem of Security

We really want to know, as a carved in the stone fact, that tomorrow we are going to be at least as comfortable as today. And anything that threatens that knowledge has a mighty mountain to climb if it's going to gain our acceptance.

But somewhere under our layers of assurances we are already know that our lives are tenuous. There is always flux, disaster, surprise. We will never know what tomorrow holds until it becomes yesterday. And if we are expecting homogeneous comfort, we're going to get rocked.

James, the New Testament writer, tells his readers to face unexpected problems with joy, because once they push through enough of them they will be able to handle anything that this precarious life throws at them. Perseverance will have finished its work.

It seems to me that the best way to live is not to build a life that blocks out trouble, because trouble will find a way in. Instead, embrace insecurity. Don't back away from a challenge. Push through all the troubles in your way. Eventually they won't look so big.