Spiritual Metal Detectors

I recently had the privilege of visiting Washington D.C. with my son. It was my first time there and it was such a great experience to see some of our nation’s history first-hand. One thing I noticed was that there were metal detectors everywhere. Aerospace Museum: metal detector. Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day: metal detector. Natural History Museum: metal detector.  Same story at the Statue of Liberty in New York: metal detector. Again, the same thing happened in Philadelphia visiting the Liberty Bell: metal detector.  Alongside all these metal detectors were security guards. They inspected bags, patted people down, and granted entry. The most sophisticated scanners, however, were at the airports. You step into the machine and it does a 360 full body scan.

So why all these security measures? Why the machines and the bag searches? Why the guards? You can probably answer those questions as easily as I can. The answer is security. The goal is to keep unwanted things out. In order to keep the public and the artifacts safe, they make sure that things that aren’t supposed to get in stay out. Things like guns, bombs, and knives. And maybe robots. We can’t have a terminator situation on our hands at these places.

1 Chronicles 26:16b-18 Guard was alongside of guard: There were six Levites a day on the east, four a day on the north, four a day on the south and two at a time at the storehouse. As for the court to the west, there were four at the road and two at the court itself.

Just like in Washington D.C., New York, and Philadelphia, they had guards at the gates of the city in Bible times. These were the gatekeepers, charged with the responsibility to keep the city safe. They were assigned a position and worked alongside other guards to fulfill their duty. It was up to them to keep the city safe. It was up to them to prevent harm from coming in.

And just like those gatekeepers, you have a job to do. You are called to be the gatekeeper of your heart – it is up to you to protect it and keep unwanted things out. You are the gatekeeper of your mind – you’ve got to keep stuff out that will ruin you. Stuff like lies from the enemy, hateful thoughts, gossip and slander.

Yes, you are a gatekeeper. And you must have a spiritual metal detector to filter what gets in. What does that look like, practically? For me, I filter what music, movies, and reading material I let in. I put safeguards on my web browser. I don’t do this because I’m being paranoid; I do it because I’m being wise. You too, must recognize that being a gatekeeper is essential to walking rightly with Christ.

I want to challenge you today: put on your spiritual security guard uniform and start checking bags before you just let them in. Get out that spiritual metal detector of the Holy Spirit and run a scan on the things demanding entrance into your life.