Seeing Through Our False Sense of Security and Finding it in a Community of Love

By Stuart Smith

Years ago, my mom was a caretaker and had the opportunity to move into a nice apartment in downtown Portland to be closer to her work. So my parents decided to rent out my childhood home to my wife and I to live and raise our son in. One dark winter evening while we lived there, I came home from work to find our power was out. The odd thing was, only our house didn’t have power. My wife and I didn’t make a lot from our full time jobs and gambled each month which bill should be paid, and this month we lost. With everything in the house powered by electricity, we didn’t have lights, hot water, a furnace, or a stove/oven to cook with, only a wood stove to provide heat for us. 

When I called PGE, I learned the account was still in my dad’s name and only he could restore service. To thicken the frustration, my parents were visiting my sister living in Germany. It took three days to get our power turned back on. I learned two lessons from that experience. One, don’t gamble on paying your bills, and two, in reality I was quite insecure. My wife and I both had full time jobs, and yet it wasn’t enough. 

This month our writing team is discussing how a lack of security causes stress on those in poverty. 

We all want to feel safe and secure for ourselves and loved ones. That is why we lock our doors at night, pay our bills on time 😉, resolve conflict with loved ones, etc… We develop routines which create familiarity that make us feel secure. Our jobs, finances, family, homes, all provide a feeling of safety. But we cannot control unforeseen disasters, only mitigate a certain amount of pain or suffering. 

So, we work to create enough space between safety and calamity. A full savings account gives you assurance that you could survive a job loss or a medical emergency. The reality is, life is fragile for us all. But for those who lack stability in the areas of financial, relational, or spiritual, the space between their security and tragedy is brittle. 

We see in scripture that, as believers, we can share security in a network of relationships. (Acts 4:32-35 for instance) A community of communion was created for the flourishing of all. This is where the practice of gleaning in the OT was so powerful for the widow, orphan, stranger, and the poor (Leviticus 19:9-10). Think about this, the stranger, widow, orphan, and poor only participated in the harvest. The land owner purchased the land, the seeds, toiled and tilled the ground, planted, protected, watered, and then the Lord commanded he leave a part of his crop to this people group who did nothing. But God gave him what he needed and God is giving through your labor to give to those without. 

For us, we have built a life with perceived security, but our life is the Lord’s. Similarly to gleaning, God continues to ask us today to assist those in need. 

Stay with us as we continue to explore this topic in the following weeks. 

What security can you provide to those in need? Visit Love INC and find out.