FAMILY THREAT ASSESSMENTS
Over the course of my life, I’ve made this consistent observation—most people just want to enjoy their life, have some fun, be happy, and pretend everything’s just fine. They go along to get along. They do not want to ponder or consider the dangers in life, confront them, and effectively deal with them.
Many years ago I wrote this to myself in my journal: Life is a treacherous minefield, filled with the devil’s snares. This is a way of looking at life as it really is, a reality few people grasp or are willing to accept. Hidden minefields in the theater of war are devastating. They can blow off your limbs, kill you, maim you, and cause tremendous, life-altering damage.
Most people have never been in a leadership position that required them to assess the threats to their organization or nation. This is something business leaders often do, military leaders often do, governments often do—but fathers seldom do this. This is a tragic mistake as our families face many threats. The wise father will keep his eyes wide open, keeping a close watch for these potential threats, and then wisely plan to mitigate them, prepare for them, and overcome them.
Here are some examples.
Children–
Have you done a threat assessment regarding the friends and company your children keep? Have you assessed the possibility of bad influences in their life that may corrupt and undermine their good morals?
Have you done a threat assessment on their smartphone use? Who are they texting? What are they texting about? How many texts a day are they sending and receiving?
Have you done a threat assessment on how much screen time they’re having on their devices every day, and the negative influence that’s having on their academic development, their characterological and spiritual development? Do you see how it’s stunting their growth or negatively affecting their mental and emotional health?
Marriage–
Have you done a threat assessment on your marriage?
Do you see a drift in your spouse towards more worldly, secular values as a result of Facebook time or things they may be reading online that’s destructive to the spiritual fabric of their lives?
Are you getting the time together that’s really needed to keep your marriage bond strong?
Are you keeping your physical intimacy strong and frequent so as to avoid possible outside temptations?
Is being too busy causing an emotional distance between you that could easily lead to a severe fracture?
Are there attitudes and behaviors creeping into each other’s lives that are early warning signs that problems could develop down the road?
Finances–
Have you done a threat assessment of your finances?
Are you building an emergency fund? I absolutely guarantee you will need it. Unexpected expenses will happen, some quite large. Are you or your spouse squandering money on foolish, unnecessary stuff, that you could be wisely, diligently setting aside if you really believed there was danger ahead?
Are you building a sustainable, secure financial future for the later years of your lives together?
Do you have the coverages you need to protect your family in the event of an unexpected disaster or untimely death?
Health–
Are you wisely considering the threats to your health through inactivity, poor hygiene, and poor food choices, then enacting strategies to mitigate those threats?
Do you understand the real danger of getting too little sleep?
Transportation–
Have you done a threat assessment of your car?
Is the vehicle your wife drives in with the children in danger of a breakdown on the road because you have neglected some basic maintenance, such as a strong battery, reliable brakes, the right tires, or changing belts before they wear and break, leaving her and the kids stranded?
Home–
Have you done a threat assessment of your home? I had a friend and his family almost all die from carbon monoxide poisoning because the furnace was not inspected.
Have you checked to be sure smoke alarms are working and your home is equipped with a fire extinguisher? Do children know the escape route in case of a fire at your home?
For us older people—have you wisely removed the loose rugs and other objects in your house that you could easily trip over, fall down, and hurt yourself very badly?
Spiritual life–
Your walk with God is the foundation of everything else in your life. There are constant reasons to not find the time—which is very dangerous.
Are you consistently practicing your spiritual disciplines?
Are you consistently building your life on the Word of God?
Are you spending much time praying and talking with God on a daily basis, thanking him and pouring out your heart to him?
Everywhere we look we are surrounded by real dangers—The prudent man foresees the dangers ahead and takes precautions; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences!
A crazy story to illustrate a powerful lesson.
Many years ago, I stopped for lunch at a Godfather’s Pizza on West 7th St. in St. Paul, MN for their pizza lunch buffet. They offered pizza and a salad bar at a great price. I got my pizza and made a salad, then sat down to enjoy this special treat. I had added a couple croutons to my salad. I took a bite, and wham—that crouton broke my tooth. I was furious. I mean, livid that I had so stupidly added that wretched crouton and not only ruined my lunch, but ruined my entire day. It cost me almost $1000 to have the tooth repaired. Even now, it makes me furious. But, I kid you not, from that day forward I carefully evaluate every single thing I put in my mouth to chew. I literally only eat soft food. I won’t put an almond in my mouth, I only eat almond butter! That will never, ever happen to me again. I assess the threats of what I eat and chew every time I eat, and it has made a tremendous difference to my overall health.
This story illustrates how we must go about, wisely living our lives in this treacherous minefield of a world.
Helping you become a Strong Disciple,
Because of Jesus,
Pastor Mark Darling
