DAY 6: Watch & Warn

Lifeguards strive for prevention rather than intervention. The goal of every lifeguard is not to make successful rescues, but to create a safe environment so that rescues are not necessary. To that end, they watch, and they warn.

Much of my work as a lifeguard was simply blowing my whistle and issuing a warning. When I was at a pool, it was usually to tell kids to stop running around by the water’s edge or doing backflips into the shallow end. But because I often worked at springs and lakes in Florida, there were three things that required watching and warning: lightning, alligators, and snakes.

Florida summers bring consistent thunderstorms most afternoons. I would have to monitor the sky for lightning and at the first visible strike or audible thunder, I had to blow my whistle and instruct everyone to exit the water. People didn’t like that, and I often had to repeat my instructions forcefully to get everyone to comply. I faced plenty of criticism, but it was my responsibility to ensure everyone’s safety. On those occasions when an alligator or water snake entered the swimming area, the guests were much more cooperative in exiting the water on my whistle. Apparently, the swimmers feared a gator’s bite more than a lightning bolt.

When I was on duty, I would alternate between walking back and forth along the water’s edge and sitting up in the lifeguard tower. Near the water’s edge, I had opportunity to connect with the park’s guests and give casual safety reminders to individuals without needing to blow my whistle and draw everyone’s attention. Sitting up in the lifeguard tower gave me a better vantage point of what was happening on the beach and in the water. It was great to be down among the people, but it didn’t offer a complete view. I needed to ascend to a higher place to gain a proper perspective from which to watch and warn.

Watch & Warn

To watch and warn was the work of the Old Testament prophets too. God instructed Ezekiel, saying,

Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately. If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me.

We are commissioned by God to be watchmen. We have a responsibility to watch and warn, so let us ascend to high places so that we can find a better view. When our feet touch the earth, we become mired in everything that's happening to us and around us and we don’t see clearly. But when we ascend to a high place, when we stretch our hearts toward heaven and the one seated upon the throne, we gain the proper perspective.

If our only vantage point for viewing the world is through the lens of Instagram and TikTok and YouTube and Apple Music, we’ll live with a distorted view of reality. Instead, let us pray and live out Jesus’ bold decree, “May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”[1]

REFLECTION

We are commissioned by God to be watchmen. We have a responsibility to watch and warn. What practices could you implement to help ensure you can find a better view?