My daughter, son, wife and I have travelled on airplanes literally more times than we can remember. Although our children don’t, Monica and I remember flying prior to 9/11. Going through security was a quicker process, even on international flights. We recall when we had to begin taking our off our footwear after the “Shoe Bomber” incident. Then water bottles were outlawed when the British police uncovered a terrorist plot involving liquid explosives. Now the latest thing is seeing the body scanners, though no one in our family has had the pleasure of taking one for a spin yet.
Countless security enhancements later and people still fear flying. (Some complain that they are now more frightened by the loss of freedom and the invasiveness of current security procedures than they are of terrorist threats!) Will enforcing more scanning, screenings, and scrutiny ever get us back to a place where we flew without much worry prior to 9/11?
I continue ruminating on words that Wayne Boldt spoke (“The Day the World Changed”) at Moose Jaw Alliance Church a few weeks ago. He said:
“9/11 reminded us that the illusions we have of security in this world are just that – illusions.”
I’m not about to advocate for foolish naïveté, but I wonder how much of our attempts at security only reveal how tightly we’re holding on to things of this world. Moreover, when do our security measures cross the line from being prudent to becoming an indicator that we’re not putting our trust in God? Would we be less obsessed with feeling secure if we remembered more often that we’re always held in our heavenly Father’s hands? No, that doesn’t keep bad things from happening from us, but it gives us confidence and peace in knowing that when those bad things happen, we are not alone.
And that gives me a peace of mind that even the most sophisticated security system can never match.
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4th Point 