Stranger Danger
Most of us were taught this concept as children. And the ones who taught it to us were our parents and those in authority over us. People who loved us, knew the world better than we did at that age, and understood that we were vulnerable to things we could not yet recognize on our own. The warning was never meant to make us fearful. It was meant to make us wise. Because the strangers were usually other adults. People who looked fine on the outside but had wrong intentions underneath.
That is not just a natural principle. It is a spiritual one.
This is exactly why Jesus gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. The spiritual C-Suite. Not just to instruct us but to protect us. To defend us. To help us recognize what we are not yet mature enough to discern on our own.
I am very aware that not all have operated rightly in these offices. Many have handled the responsibility wrongfully and caused real harm. I am not dismissing that. But the misuse of a role does not eliminate the need for it. Pure, rightly functioning leaders provide the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding that keeps the body from being deceived and tossed.
They are a gift, not a threat.
But I also want to be clear about something. Leadership alone is not enough. We have a role and a responsibility in this too.
Second Timothy 2:15 says it plainly. Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman tested by trial who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth.
Study. Not just read. There is a difference.
The FBI trains its agents by having them handle authentic currency for months before they ever encounter a counterfeit. They become so familiar with what is real that the moment something false is introduced, they recognize it immediately. They do not have to search for what is wrong. The wrong announces itself because they know the real so well.
That is exactly how we are to handle the Word of God.
The protection God designed is twofold. Gifted leaders who are functioning in purity and integrity. And believers who are personally disciplined in the study of scripture. One without the other leaves us exposed.
Stranger danger was never just a childhood lesson. It was a preview of a spiritual reality. And God, who knows humanity better than we will ever know ourselves, put both the leadership and the personal responsibility in place on purpose.
Neither one is optional. Both are necessary.
He’s speaking.
I’m writing and listening.
The Golden Scribe | MaShani Allen
