"Security"

The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin. The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out. (Proverbs 10:7-9 NIV).

Read the bold verse again. If ever there was a need for security it is now. Our day is filled with uncertainty, challenge, and struggle. Job lived in that kind of world and yet the Scripture says that he was “secure.” In fact, by the time we see Job; he had reared his family, established himself in the business world, and gotten up in years. He had become “the greatest of all the men of the east” (Job 1:3). When people mentioned his name, feelings of respect arose, for the man was “upright, fearing God and turning away from evil” (1:1). Job walked securely. Similar things were said of Joseph. Though young, he became Potiphar’s “personal servant” and later was put in charge over all Potiphar owned, both “in the house and in the field” (Genesis 39:5). Whether before the workers or handling large sums of money or serving a large group of guests or all alone in the home with Potiphar’s wife, Joseph could be trusted. He walked securely, free of skeletons in his closet. Daniel also comes to mind. He distinguished himself among his peers because “he possessed an extraordinary spirit” (Daniel 6:3), which was observed by his superior, King Darius. He came up for promotion to prime minister, and it so infuriated those who envied him that they “began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel” (Daniel 6:4). However, their tactics had no effect. After all their searching and spying, after every attempt to dig up some dirt, “they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption” anywhere (Daniel 6:4). Daniel, like Job and Joseph, walked securely. He never feared being “found out.”

What is it that these men had in common? Perfection? No, each person I have named was far from perfect. Easy times? Hardly. A closer look will reveal heartaches and hardships that would make our challenges pale in comparison! Well, how about an impressive presence, carefully choreographed by a handful of clever public-image specialists and marketing experts? Well, you know the answer to that one! Perhaps it was their ability to sway the people with their rhetoric. That would be wrong also. We can dream up a half dozen other possibilities that some might suggest, but they would be as far off target as the four I’ve mentioned. What they had in common was character. Each man I have selected from the Scriptures had high moral character. It is easy to overlook that essential ingredient among leaders in our times. That ought to be our goal as well. I wonder, if your life were to be a nationally televised special, with nothing hidden, how would you fare? Now, don’t go digging up the past. Stay rooted with me in the present. Regardless of what your past looks like, your present can be clean and free of all recrimination in Christ. Will you turn to him now for forgiveness and a fresh start at developing and maintaining character? It’s the only way to have security!