At my job safety is always a concern. There are many different ways in which you could get hurt. Every facet of what we do is regulated by safety. Each one of us is required to take OSHA safety courses, and we are required to wear the proper safety equipment. When using heavy equipment you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times. I can't tell you how many times looking twice has saved me from a car coming out of nowhere or a person!! The equipment that we use has to be properly chained down when transported from job to job. This was not always the case!! In my grandfathers time as a payer, they would simply load up a machine and just leave it in gear and shut it off. At the time there wasn't any safety rules regarding restraining a machine on a trailer, and you didn't need a special license to drive a big truck and trailer.

Over the years safety has become a driving force in this country. Just think there wasn't always a seat belt law, and special infant seats and the rules on restraining them. I imagine cars didn't have to be inspected years ago either. There are so many ways in which we have learned as a nation to be more safe. I remember years ago as a boy, I had one of those tot finder stickers on my window. I remember asking my parents what it was for, and they explained to me that if there was a fire, then the firefighters would know where to find me. Well did you know that is no longer a recommended practice? It is not considered a safe practice because statistics have shown the tot stickers were outdated a majority of the time. In other words, the tot is no longer in that room and the time the firefighters waste there could endanger your children's lives.

I am simply amazed when I think about how safety aware we are here in America. I could list dozens of examples in which we have learned to be :pore safe. I say all this not to criticize because I too put a lot of value on being safe for me and my family. No, I say this because all this emphasis is being put on our physical part, but what about our spiritual body?? We have learned so much on how to take care of our physical bodies, but how much does that matter if we have no regard for safety when it comes to our soul? As I stated earlier that is what amazes me, we have become masters in protecting ourselves physically, but then don't apply that same wisdom to protecting our souls. We make it way to easy for the devil when we do this. It's like we are walking into his backyard with no armor and no weapon. What do you think the result will be? Well I can tell you I have put myself in unsafe situations thinking I am strong enough only to be sorrowful later.

David was wearing the armor of God when he faced Goliath, and I can tell you in complete confidence that he was safe from harm. I am reminded of some wisdom from our Lord Jesus, and even our kids know this one! Jesus said wise is the man who builds his house on the rock, but foolish is the one who builds on the sand. The wisdom in this saying fits the point I am trying to get across. Being safe and protecting our earthly bodies while neglecting our soul makes us the foolish man, but being cautious, careful and safe with our souls makes us the wise man. Oh, just in case you don't remember what happens to the foolish man's house, ask one of the children.

Eric