National Park Service

A bad knee has kept me from my beloved mountain hikes for the past
year or so (I hope to have that addressed in the near future).  While
I was still able to get out, though, I carried my cell phone with me.
Getting a signal out in the wilds is usually a dicey proposition, but
in the event of accidents or getting lost it's nice to have a backup
plan.  New technology has its benefits.

Finding a device that is simply a phone is quite a challenge these
days.  Phones have become smart and can do lots of things other than
transmit voices over long distances.  One popular feature of most of
these gadgets is the ability to play music.  No signals are needed to
trek a forest trail while ear buds relay throbbing tunes from your
smart phone.

Such habits have led the National Park Service to add to their list of
contributing factors to park accidents.  In addition to the ageless
dangers of darkness and wild animals comes this modern hazard:
inattention to surroundings.  How can one hear the warning rattles of
a diamondback while wearing noise-canceling headphones?  One is more
apt to stumble over tree roots if they are absorbed in their text
messaging.

Would you wear dark sunglasses to view a vivid rainbow?  If not, then
why would you drown out the soothing sounds of birds, babbling brooks
and wind in the pines with man-made melodies?  But, aesthetic
considerations aside, the National Park Service wants you to know that
technology can increase your odds of injury.

Watchfulness is a trait often urged by the writers of God's word.  We
have an enemy who is as vicious as a lion and he stalks us, wrote
Peter; we should therefore "be sober, be vigilant" (1 Peter 5:8).  In
all of my hiking experiences I've encountered a bear only once (and
that at a distance).  Peter, however, warns that a lion is tracking
me, and he wants to make me his next meal.

Earlier in his letter Peter spoke of being wide-eyed and alert:
"Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your
hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13).  Eugene Peterson helps us
to grasp the impact of this apostolic alarm in "The Message": "So roll
up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready ..."

One of the few righteous kings mentioned in the Old Testament was
Jehoshaphat.  On one occasion, however, he was found in the company of
wicked King Ahab.  After narrowly escaping death in an ill-advised
battle, Jehoshaphat was rebuked by a prophet of God: "Should you help
the wicked and love those who hate the Lord?  Therefore the wrath of
the Lord is upon you" (2 Chronicles 19:2).

It shouldn't have been difficult for Jehoshaphat to see he was in
ungodly territory; idolatry was prevalent in Ahab's reign.  Yet the
righteous man appears to have been inattentive to his surroundings and
exposed himself to unnecessary temptation.  He was fortunate to
escape.

When was the last time you checked your surroundings?  Are you in
spiritually safe terrain?  Have you heeded the admonition of Paul: "Do
not be deceived: 'Evil company corrupts good habits'" (1 Corinthians
15:33).  Dangers abound; let's be fully alert as we travel.

Timothy D. Hall.