John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and
kill and destroy;. . . “
1 Peter 5:8 Be
of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like
a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
There’s a neighbor down the street- an older gentleman- and
nearly every morning when we are walking to church he meets us in the street
and tells us to be watchful and look out for robbers and thieves. It is a sad reality of the community and
neighborhood in which we live. More than
a few times when we’ve been downtown on a day off a taxi driver has refused to
bring us home because of how dangerous this part of town is.
I have a law enforcement background. I worked as a Wildlife & Fisheries
Officer for 6 and half years right out of college. I graduated at the top of the class from Mississippi’s
State Law
Enforcement Academy. I’m the one that’s been preaching to the
other racers about “situational awareness”.
I like to think I’m more aware of my surroundings than everyone else. Maybe.
Maybe not.
Last Saturday I
walked by myself from our house to the Jacuzzi house (they don’t really have an
operational Jacuzzi). Generally speaking
I feel pretty safe in daylight. (Our
girls are forbidden to walk anywhere alone at any time). On the way, I was reviewing some of my
“situational awareness” techniques. I
was being very cognizant of my surroundings.
I was glancing to my right and left at regular intervals to make sure no
one was following me or getting too close.
I was avoiding walking near blind corners and doorways. I crossed the street to avoid a gang of men
that gather to read a local bulletin board (with job ads and apartment listings
etc.).
And I was fine. I
arrived safely at the Jacuzzi house so that I could go with Team Salt for some
team time.
A few minutes later Team Salt (2 guys and 4 girls) and I
proceeded to walk a few hundred yards to a major intersection to catch a taxi
into the City. We flagged down two
taxis- Andrew was negotiating with one driver and Amanda was negotiating with
the other and the rest of us were just standing around. And I was not aware of my situation at
all. Maybe I was lulled into complacency
because there were 7 of us, including 3 guys- in broad daylight at a major
intersection.
Out of nowhere a thief made a grab for one of the girls’
bags. By the time someone screamed the
guy was halfway across the street and running for his life. He was 50 yards away before we knew he had
ripped her watch off her wrist. We all
yelled but no one lifted a hand to stop the guy. Maybe he was going for the bag of groceries. Maybe he was hungry. Maybe if he had asked for food we would have
gave it to him! Maybe he was just
sin-sick and greedy. Maybe he was
drug-crazed and desperate. I don’t know.
I know my guard was down.
I know the thief was bold (or desperate)…or both. I don’t know if he made the grab
spontaneously or with malice aforethought.
That’s the thing about crooks on the street- most of the time they have
a huge advantage because they’ve already thought about what they’re going to
do. They have the element of surprise on
their side. (Training and experience can
perhaps counter some of their advantage).
I know there’s a spiritual parallel. Satan prowls around like a hungry lion
looking for one of us to devour. He
wants to steal, kill and destroy. I
heard a preacher say one time that he wants to steal our fellowship, kill our
joy, and destroy our witness. There’s
probably some truth to that. Satan can’t
read our minds or know our thoughts but he is a master psychologist. He has observed human nature for so long that
for the most part he doesn’t have to read our minds. He just knows us humans really well. He knows our weaknesses. He probably knows when our guard is
down. And there’s not always strength in
numbers. Oh, there is when we are
diligent to watch out for one another.
But if yesterday is any indication of truth, then we can apparently be
together and still not be watching out for one another.
Live and learn.
Physically and Spiritually.
