You’ve seen it, haven’t you? The ubiquitous commercial where Jonathan Lawson, a 15-year insurance agent dressed in a suit, interrupts your regularly scheduled television program and reminds you of the three P's of having insurance on a fixed budget: Price, Price, and Price. Like all insurance, Jonathan offers a financial safety net that protects you and your family from economic loss and uncertainty in an accident or other unexpected event.  He says that with Colonial Penn Life Insurance, people with medical histories can get coverage options starting at just $9.95 monthly.

Targeted to people between 50 and 85, Jonathan offers a safety net of “guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance to the ineligible due to age or health status and to help their families cover funeral costs after the individual dies.” Like trapeze artists at the circus swinging from one trapeze to the other, the open safety net provides insurance in case one of the performers loses their grip and falls. Unlike circus performers, the funny thing about life insurance is that while it offers a safety net, it will only open when we die. We never experience the benefits of the safety net while living, but our families do.

Another insurance company’s commercial focuses on providing a safety net from “cut-rate insurance” and features the character “Mayhem.” Mayhem blends into the unaware public by wearing a black suit, white dress shirt, and black necktie. His face is usually bruised, scarred, or wearing a butterfly bandage.

According to Jonathan and Mayhem, we want to be safe from the chaos and certainty of death, taxes, and change. There isn’t a guaranteed fixed rate to protect us where life is free from worry and problems. Unlike a guaranteed locked-in rate on life insurance or protection from mayhem, when life gets challenging, I return to Jesus. He came to give us life to the fullest, an “abundant” life that begins on the inside.

This life is revealed in our responses to change, suffering, and life’s challenges. Jesus is the ultimate safety net, offering us a unique form of security that insurance cannot. I’ve found it necessary to use the safety net by following Jesus and practicing four spiritual habits to help me refocus and grow closer to God. These four habits aren't new as they originate from the disciples in the first-century church recorded in Acts 2:42-47.

As you’ve heard me say on numerous occasions, the four spiritual habits are about doing life together to experience life to the fullest. These habits, which focus on relationships, community, stories of God’s grace and power, and making an impact on the world, are not just routines. They are tools that help us build a spiritual safety net, providing security and support in the face of life's challenges.

- Spending Time with God in worship and prayer
- Spending Time with others over a meal
- Sharing and listening to stories of life
- Using your gifts to serve a need in the church or community

If you've gotten out of practice, refresh your commitment to practicing the habits. Over time, the consistent practice of each habit throughout each week slowly changes our point of view as God’s power shifts something inside us that offers us a safety net free from mayhem so that we can live life to its fullest. Because Jesus came that we may have life to the fullest by practicing these habits, we have a safety net that is always open. 

At the Intersection,

Dr. Quincy D. Brown

Senior Pastor