This week I had the opportunity to spend three days at the Middlesex Superior Courthouse in Woburn. Not by choice, mind you. I was called for jury duty & by the luck of the draw, I was seated on a case. It was a “slip & fall” case.
A “slip & fall” injury involves injuries that occur to persons due to a dangerous condition on public or private property. The bottom line is that you have a right to be safe from injury due to dangerous conditions on public and private property. As you can tell from the definition of a slip & fall, it has been made easy for one person to sue another, be it a public place or private property. Pain becomes subjective. Details hard to prove.
The interesting thing I learned about these types of cases is that each of us has a responsibility to also keep ourselves safe. None of us should be putting ourselves in harm’s way.
Each. Of. Us. Has. Responsibility. For. Our. Own. Safety.
This morning as I have thought about all I heard from both the plaintiff & the defendant, I have been wondering how does this pan out for us – spiritually?
Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
Hebrews 12:1b-2a NLT
What are some principles for taking responsibility for our own “safety”- spiritually?
- We are to endure. Interesting word here. It denotes a bearing up under or endurance regarding circumstances. It is associated with hope & it “refers to that quality of character that does not allow one to surrender to circumstances or succumb.” (New Testament Lexical Aids). Endurance reveals character. The building up of endurance in our character, in our nature, is necessary to our safety.
- We maintain our sight line. A sight line is an unobstructed line that extends from the observer’s eye to the viewed object. We must remove all obstructions in our spiritual lives. The writer of Hebrews tells us, just one verse earlier, to “strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.” We each must assess for ourselves those things that are in our life that are hindering our walk with God. We need to strip ourselves of them.
- We are to keep our focus. Not only do we need an unobstructed view but we need to keep our eyes focused. And we need to be focused on One Person – Christ. It is He that initiates our faith & will perfect our faith. He alone.
In court this week, the plaintiff did not receive any compensation for her fall. It was found that the defendant had done everything necessary to ensure her safety.
Christ as well, has done all that is necessary to ensure our safety. He has gone on before us, run the race & is the champion at living this life. May we do our part to maintain ourselves – stay focused, keep sight & most of keep going.
“True progress quietly & persistently moves along without notice.” (Francis de Sales)
