[Standalone] The Cult of Safety
“Safety is the driving force of everything. Officer safety. Public safety. And of course, who can forget the much-maligned safe space? Everything about the life of the American is dominated by safety above all else.
The danger is inescapable. Modern materialistic, consumerist man believes our society has triumphed over danger. But no amount of technological progress is ever going to protect you from a dangerous world. You may think you have walled yourself off from danger. “Death will never enter my cul-de-sac!” But inexorably it does. It may appear in the form of evil men, hellbent upon destruction. It may appear in the form of a disease that the hubris of modern medicine can do nothing to solve. You live in a dangerous world and much wealth has been expended to make you believe that you do not.
The people who rule you want you to believe the world has no danger. They want you to be soft. They want you to believe you never will have to defend yourself. They want you to believe your safety matters more than anything else in life. They want you to be the kind of people who will rob the young of the very best years of their lives so you can hang on to a few more months of decrepitude. The demonic mantra of the worshipper of the god of safety is “you will give your life for mine”. It is the total antithesis of the most fundamental Christian ethos which is “my life for yours.”
Top Gun: Maverick would be a movie we would enjoy. Yes, the plot was as predictable as it could get. Yes, the dialogue constantly skirted the border of cheese-fest like an F-18 flying in a canyon under the radar. None of that mattered. It was a celebration of masculinity.
Fighter pilots, laughing in the face of stuffed-shirt authorities concerned with safety above all. Men who directly disobeyed orders to do heroic, selfless deeds. It was a celebration of all the things that made America great. A celebration of selfless Christian virtue buried beneath the veneer of hotshot womanizers. Of course, these things do not exist anymore in reality.
But the fact that such a movie can be made, and that it is experienced incredible success is a testament to the fact that men willing to face danger still exist. The Border Patrol Agent who did what the Uvalde Police refused to do exists.
And many of you reading this have the fire burning within your souls, begging for an opportunity to show valor. Take heart, as the hard times created by soft men come, such opportunities will soon abound. But in the meantime, you must reject the cult of safety. You must find even the smallest ways to prepare yourself to take up the mantle of the courageous men who preceded you. You must diligently work to become a man worthy of the honor of giving your life for others. You live in a dangerous world and you must become a good and dangerous man.”
- Andrew Isker, Pastor of 4th Street Evangelical Church in Waseca, MN. He is a graduate of Minnesota State University and Greyfriar’s Hall Ministerial Training School, and he has served churches in Missouri, West Virginia, and Minnesota. He is the author of the forthcoming book, The Boniface Option. Andrew, his wife Kara, and their five children reside in his hometown of Waseca, MN.
* Read full post by Andrew HERE.