Checkpoint

Security checkpoints are a hassle. They are usually slow, they invade your privacy, they force you to rearrange, and at times they can be intimidating. But regardless of how you feel about them, you are not going to fly without going through them. You can plan your itinerary, pay for your ticket, even arrive at the airport but until you go through the checkpoint you are not really a passenger.

Security checkpoints ensure you are who you say you are. Without a ticket and without proper ID you will never board the plane. Security checkpoints also verify you don’t have any of the wrong stuff. You won’t be making it on board if you insist on bringing liquids, weapons, or other contraband items. If you accidentally packed anything that you shouldn’t have, the checkpoint will ensure you get rid of it in preparation for your flight.

Every checkpoint involves screening. Usually, you remove your shoes. You place all your belongings on a scanner and then you walk through a scanner yourself. If there is any cause for concern then there is the dreaded pat down. By the time you have made it through the checkpoint, you have been deemed ready to fly.

As much as I dislike going through security when I fly, I would never suggest it is taken away. In fact, I would say it is necessary despite the inconvenience it causes. Without security measures, I would be uncomfortable flying. Just like these airport checkpoints are necessary, it is critical for us to have spiritual checkpoints too.

Most of us would prefer to avoid spiritual checkpoints for the same reasons we want to avoid airport security – it slows us down, it makes us uncomfortable, it forces change, and it can be intimidating. But we need spiritual checkpoints to verify that our identity is matched by our behavior. We need these checkpoints to ensure we remove any unhealthy or questionable patterns from our lives.

In James 1:26-27, we are given an important spiritual check. James challenges believers to examine themselves. If we think we are following God and living His way, we need to ensure our walk is matching our talk.

Listen to James advice, “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:26-27 NASB)

As we go through this spiritual examination, we need to look at a few things:

1. Are we saying unnecessary or harmful things? Unhealthy speech has no place in our lives. If it is there, we need to get it out in the open and remove it. Think about what you have said recently. Was it helpful or hurtful? Did it build up or tear down? Did you need to say it or could you have kept your mouth shut?

2. Are we taking care of those in need? What orphans and widows have in common is that they have lost their family; they are alone. If we are really following God we have a heart for people who are suffering and struggling. When is the last time you gave sacrificially? Whose burden have you lessened? Who have you been spending time with and caring for?

3. Are we staying pure? We live in the midst of a crazy world, but we are called to be set apart. We should be changing the world instead of the world changing us. What are you spending your time thinking about? What are your automatic reactions? Where does your viewpoint align most?

Many times to move forward in our walk with God we have to get uncomfortable. We have to examine every detail of our life. We have to remove certain items. But we have to keep the end result in mind. The checkpoint is not the point. Our aim is to walk with God, to be known as His child, and reflect Him and His love to the world around us.

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“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”
Ephesians 4:29 NASB

“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’”
Matthew 25:40 NASB

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.’”
I Peter 1:14-16 NASB