John and Martha King write a monthly column in Flying magazine about aviation safety. They teach that to improve safety pilots must use a technique called risk management which has two components. First is the “habit of situational awareness by systematically thinking about risks”. The second is “coming up with mitigation strategies for the risks you have thought of”. While this idea of risk management has been around for some time, Martha states that much of a pilot’s “aviation knowledge is an abstraction. . .until we apply it in a practical scenario” and therefore she suggests pilots develop habits whereby they address these two components of risk management before every flight. [1]
Our Christian beliefs are also an abstraction until we apply it in a practical situation. Jesus tells us: “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” (Matthew 5:44 NIV). This verse is an abstraction for many (e.g. the Westboro Baptist Church) because they do not put it into practice. In fact they do just the opposite by spewing hate toward those with whom they disagree.
Paul tells us Christians should not sue each other but we are to resolve our disputes among ourselves (1 Corinthians 6:1-8). This passage is an abstraction for many churches and denominational headquarters as they sue each other over who owns a particular church property. Applying this verse in a practical situation would mean we would be prepared to and in some instances actually experience a financial loss instead of suing a fellow Christian.
Like pilots who institute habits that enable them to use risk management tools to improve the safety of each flight they take, we Christians must develop habits that assist us in actually putting into practice what the Bible teaches us.
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[1] Martha King, “Why Some Pilots Are Bad Risk Managers”, Flying, December 2015, p. 34.
