Did You Remember to Lock the Door?
When Denny's decided to close all but six of its 1,221 restaurants for Christmas in 1988, they ran into an unexpected problem—many of their locations didn't have locks on their doors because they had never needed to close before. As a result, the company had to install locks in more than 700 restaurants just so they could shut down for the holiday2.
It was a historic moment for the chain, which had always prided itself on being open 24/7, 365 days a year. The closure was meant to be a gift to employees, allowing them to spend Christmas with their families, even though it cost the company millions in lost revenue.
Imagine working at a place for years and never needing to lock the doors—then suddenly having to figure out how to close up shop! Quite the logistical challenge.
Like Denny's, you may want the door of your heart to be open 24/7. But there is inherent danger in doing so. You never know what unsavory or ill intentioned enemy might jiggle the doorknob and creep on in.
We want our hearts always to be "ready" to welcome the Lord ... and His people! Ready to receive all the Lord has for us! Ready for His return! Ready for opportunites to serve and care for the needs of others! Ready to serve up a "grand slam" of Christian hospitality or ministry.
But vigilence is key. Lock the doors, but be listening for the knock of His return or the knock of opportunity to minister and serve.
35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Luke 12, ESV).
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10, ESV).
We’ve Propped Open the Door for Evil to Enter Their Hearts
In the wake of the mass shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX, where 19 children and 2 teachers lost their lives, authorities still struggle to come to grips with what went wrong. Among the many questions, including those about issues with the police’ delayed response, is the question of how the gunman gained such easy access to the school in the first place.
Details are slowly emerging. According to the Insider:
Security footage from Robb Elementary School in Texas shows that a back door was propped open by a teacher before Tuesday's deadly mass shooting, Texas law enforcement officials said.
At 11:27 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the door that police believe was used by the 18-year-old gunman to enter the school was propped open by a teacher, Director of Texas Department of Public Safety Steven McCraw said at a Friday press conference.
McCraw said the detail was confirmed through "video evidence."
According to reports, the teacher had left her cell phone in her car, and ran to get it, leaving the door propped open so that it wouldn't close behind her. No malicious intent. No purposeful wrong action. Just a simple lapse in judgment and vigilance.
Michelle Davidson, the interim Minister to Children and Families at Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church, TX, looked beyond the open door at the school building to the deeper, spiritual implications of the threats facing our children today. She shared her thoughts in a public Facebook post which has since garnered more than 50K shares and reactions. She observes:
The door where the shooter entered the school was propped open (not knowing what was about to happen). The shooter was given access to the kids and adults on that campus. The policemen were there but were waiting to go in.
As I have pondered and talked with God over these things the last few days, I felt so overwhelming in my spirit, “this is a physical picture of what is happening in the spiritual.”
Today, we have left doors propped open by which the enemy has gained access to our children. Access to fill their minds with anxiety, fear, lies, hate, lust, pornography and pride. I think in some cases, we have even given him a key to come and go as he wishes. When we are not present and intentional in parenting, the enemy is more than happy to fill in the gaps through social media, screens, porn, drugs, evil, insecurity, depression and anxiety. Parenting is not for the lazy or faint of heart these days - it’s difficult in different ways but ways that I believe come with a much greater cost.
We (I’m including me as well) have sat back and prayed asking God, when will things change? We have waited for more reinforcements (for someone else to help our kids), or thinking it’s a phase, it will pass, meanwhile, the enemy is taking out our children one by one.
Satan has come to kill, steal and destroy. Period.
He is killing their God-given identity! He is stealing their beauty and purpose! He is destroying their childhood and joy! He is stealing their confidence and peace!
She continues:
We just can't sit idly by any longer. We have to rise up and stand for and with our kids. We have to put our own devices down and play with our kids. We need to look into their eyes and speak truth into their hearts. We need to shut and lock the freakin’ doors where the enemy has gained access.
It’s a spiritual battle folks! It’s time we take back some ground that the enemy has stolen and that’s only gonna happen when we, as adults, be adults for the kids in our lives.
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6, ESV).
“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children …. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 4:9, 6:6-9, ESV).
Rapper Layzie Bone Saves Life on the Road
Steven "Layzie Bone" Howse—a famous Hip-Hop artist with the Grammy award winning, multi-platinum band Bone Thugs-n-Harmony—was driving through Wyoming on the way to a concert to promote his new album PERFECT TIMING, when out of nowhere a car came careening toward him.
“He went from one side of the road to the other side of the road, left, right, left, right and a quarter mile up, oncoming traffic was coming, so you know we were screaming we were scared for him.” The car narrowly missed several vehicles before spinning out and coming to a stop right in front of Layzie’s car.
He and other witnesses, sure that they would find evidence of alcohol or drugs, rushed to the vehicle to see if they could help. What they found was a man incoherently babbling with no smell of alcohol on his breath nor evidence of any in the car. It didn’t take long for them to come to the conclusion that this was possibly some kind of blood sugar issue.
Layzie quickly ran to his car and fetched fruit and chocolate which he was carrying as road snacks. He began frantically feeding the man, helping to stabilize his blood sugar until paramedics could arrive.
So what did the PERFECT TIMING rapper have to say about his efforts? “I guess I was in the right place at the right time to be of some assistance.”
Quick thinking, a little preparedness, and a willingness to respond were all it took for Layzie Bone to save a life. Are you ready and willing to do the same as God presents you with opportunities to make a difference in the life of another—maybe even a complete stranger?
Spiritually and physically needy people are all around us. We are in the “right place at the right time” more than we care to acknowledge. All that’s lacking is a little quick thinking, a little preparedness, and a willingness to respond.
"Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others" (1 Timothy 6:17-18).