Article July 15, 1996 Issue

What keeps us safe

Marta Greenwood

Do we feel safe in our communities? Our streets? Our houses? Sophisticated alarm systems, security lights and grids around our houses, schools, and businesses might help us feel secure. But do we really feel safe?

The Bible is full of accounts of how people overcame violence and insecurity. It tells how they turned troubling events into victories for themselves and others.

Take the example of Daniel in the lions' den (see Dan. 6:1–23). Daniel must have identified himself as a beloved child of a loving creator. After his night with the lions, he told the king, "My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me" (verse 22). His perception of his creator was firm and sure. He knew without any doubt that all of God's creation is filled and controlled by Love. Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy says, "Understanding the control which Love held over all, Daniel felt safe in the lions' den, and Paul proved the viper to be harmless" (p. 514).