Airport Security vs. Scrutiny

The 9/11 hijackers, we are told, used box cutters to attack airplane crews and take over the aircraft so they could fly the planes into buildings. After that, box cutters, knives, and even nail clippers were banned. Nail clippers? How many people have been killed with nail clippers? I’m guessing the answer is zero. Was there a “Nail clipper Nightmare” and I missed it? What about a “Nail file Fright”?

Next, the terrorists tried to sneak liquid explosives aboard airplanes. So bottles of liquid were banned from planes – even the coffee people were drinking. What does explosive-laced coffee taste like? Do you think people would actually go around drinking that?

Then some guy put a bomb in his shoe. The nursery rhyme tells us:

“One, two, buckle my shoe; three, four, knock at the door; five, six, pick up sticks; seven, eight, lay them straight.”

Little did we know there would be sticks of dynamite in that shoe! Talk about a spring in his step! So everyone henceforth has had to remove his or her footwear at the airport.

Then another man had an explosive device in his underwear. (Many guys have something explosive down there, but it’s not a bomb!) His bits were blown to bits. Was the underwear bomber wearing boxers or briefs? I don’t remember. Anyhow, now everyone has to go through either the naked body scanner or a thorough pat-down/frisking at the airport.

The terrorists probably like this.

Airport security is always reactionary. After the would-be terrorists try something, the government comes up with a plan to inconvenience all of the non-threatening passengers. While security personnel are distracted and are busy making people go barefoot and go through a virtual strip search, the terrorists can sneak in and plant their bombs. Are the terrorists laughing at all the plebes getting their “junk” touched and photographed?

Those who are religious say modesty is a must. The apostle Paul says:

“And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need” (1 Corinthians 12: 23-24, NKJV).

Nobody likes to be inappropriately touched or exposed in public. Well, there probably are a few people, but nobody I know. So, are all of these invasive measures necessary?

The bad guys always seem to be one step ahead. Now the terrorists are putting bombs into toner cartridges and shipping them. They’re not going through airport security at all.

Why do the terrorists have such a fascination with planes?

If a terrorist’s explosive device goes off, he bombed. If his device fails to go off, he bombed. (I think my joke bombed, too.)

The best security doesn’t come from a scanner or a pat-down or even or a blanket – no matter what Linus in the Peanuts cartoon thinks. It comes from God. (You knew I’d get to God at some point.) Yes, God is your security guard.

Do you ask for God’s protection?

There’s something in the Old Testament called the Mizpah. It’s a little blessing people say: “The Lord watch between you and me, when we are absent one from the other” (Genesis 31: 49, NRSV).

While you may not be able to avoid physical trouble or difficulty, Christ can offer you a sense of calm and inner peace. As Paul describes it: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4: 7, NRSV).

Verse 3 of “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” says:

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,

Leaning on the everlasting arms?

I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning,

Safe and secure from all alarms;

Leaning, leaning,

Leaning on the everlasting arms.

You won’t set off the alarms at the airport if you walk with God – and if you don’t walk with explosives. God has all the power you need. (Need some? Read Tap into God’s Power.)

You should be grounded in God (and not grounded at the airport). That comes through faith: “Reverence for God gives a man deep strength; his children have a place of refuge and security” (Proverbs 14: 26, TLB).

This, however, does not mean that you will be without trouble. Trouble always comes. The presence of terrorists reminds us of that.

Because they’re primarily Muslim and are always trying to find ways to attack the Western world (which is primarily Christian), I consider it to be a spiritual battle. And you can’t do battle without some weapons.

In Ephesians 6: 11-18, Paul talks about the “Whole Armor of God.” Because I have to be different, I don’t call it that. I call it “God’s Gear”:

• The Belt of Truth

• The Breastplate of Righteousness

• The Shoes of Readiness

• The Shield of Faith

• The Helmet of Salvation

• The Sword of the Spirit

• And the Underwear of Prayer

You don’t recall underwear being on that list? Well, you’ve gotta read the Bible like I do. In verse 18 of that passage, Paul says, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (NIV). I see that as a way to undergird your life. So, in keeping with Paul’s armor analogy, I call that the “underwear of prayer.” Besides, it rhymes.

So, counter the exploding underwear with the praying underwear!

Counter the exploding shoes with the preaching shoes! Verse 15 of that passage says, “As shoes for your feet, put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace” (NRSV). The “shoes of readiness” allow you to preach the Gospel.

No matter what the circumstances, you must allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in living a godly life. Peter tells us:

“Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil” (1 Peter 3: 13-17, NRSV).

God’s Gear may not help you get through airport security any easier, but it will help you get through life easier!