The Allowance of Doors Part I

The Allowance of Doors Part I

5/30/12

Humans have always desired to have a permanent fixture that they could call their own.  Our bodies represent a fixture that allows us to function normally, and houses represent the places where we call home and other buildings hide us away for our daily work duties.  All of the structures have one thing in common, doors.  Doors are the source that allows us to enter these complexes and the means to leave in a similar manner through the exact way of entering.  Our personal lives have doors as well which represent the exact same concepts, with these concepts possibly altering our lives and the ones we love and to take things a step further our spirits also have doors which allow access to our inner being which need naught be intimidated by our enemy.

Man has always had the desire to reside, work or congregate in a fixed setting.  Even though humans like to move around and see different settings we have a habit of returning to a certain place to settle in for an undisturbed amount of time.  Over the centuries there have been many views on permanent structures and it is hard to consider fixed or permanent structures as not being a positive concept but these structures do have their drawbacks and can pose as targets to people who do not care for our existence.  One area of a structure that is common with all other structures, fixed or mobile is the door.

Doors have been mentioned in almost every reference of historical places and stem all the way back to Mesopotamia times.  Doors are considered to be the means by which people come in and out of a place of residence.  In ancient times doors might have been a simple wooden swing or even a long sheet that covered an entrance.  The door might have been only a small entrance in which the person had to bend over to enter or the door might have not even been rectangular in shape, it could have been round or square.  No matter what the size or shape of the door it represented the acceptable means of entry into that specific society.  Nomadic tribes lived in tents which usually had some type of opening to the inside of the living quarters.  Even though these were tent dwelling people their systematic living capabilities were of a strong portion of their endurance in subduing the land.

As humans became less nomadic in their adventures small communities began to spring up and be developed.  In many ancient cities walls became the prominent means of defense against invading enemies but while the walls provided security there still had to be an opening created so that the people had a method to enter and leave the city.  Gates had to be made within the walls so that this procession of people could be possible and without these passages the city itself would suffocate itself within a matter of time.  Gates were heavily fortified since it posed as a weakness to the defensive stance within a wall it also had to be large enough so that masses of people, soldiers, animals or goods could move through at any given time under any circumstance. 

Once a person had entered through the main gate or a main gate of that city they had the option to enter many other doors that were present within that city.  Many ancient city walls housed their officials, common people and even businesses with doors leading down long hallways or into individual houses, again easily accessed once inside the main city gates.  All types of business were conducted through these doors and inside these areas, both legal and illegal.  The walls were not the only place where business of the city took place the outer open areas of the city were often crowded with people milling about and just completing everyday human practices.  No matter what activity was being completed anyone who had access to the inner city had to come through a gate, no matter if it was by a natural door or one that was created by an invading enemy.

We have all watched movies where a group’s enemy has attacked a fort, city, or camp.  There is usually some kind of gate that defines the camp in which all things enter and leave.  But when an enemy attacks it will do so no matter where they deem the weak point of the defensive system is located.  If you read history and understand the art of siege, you will understand that an enemy will take a very long time in selecting its targets for penetration.  An enemy will not haphazardly advance upon a target without first making sure what the probability of successful penetration will be into the target.  We also read that many siege situations the attacking enemy will continually launch some type of bombardment to weaken the defenses of the city and if all possible weaken the defenses so that an alternate route into the city is possible.

As time advanced villages, towns and cities have developed more the concept of openness when it comes to these places.  Some of the ancient cities that still remain have the old walls present but they are not used in defensive methods as in the past.  They are seen more as decorations or memorials of times past.  We even see modern doors that are decorated with elaborate designs on them and represent showmanship rather than hospitality.  These doors still represent the means of entrance into specific buildings but have lessened the importance of their meaning.  Glass doors are a popular theme in these modern times, which are easily accessible by breaking the glass and walking on into the building.  I could give many more examples but now is not the time for it is my intent to try and explain that we as humans have these same types of entrance ways into our lives that the enemy wishes to penetrate and destroy.

Let us look at what is behind a door.  Stop and think about this for a moment.  Depending upon which door is accessed the content of the room behind the door could be of no great importance or something of great value to us that we cannot imagine a price tag on the items, or so we think.  That unimportant closet item that we deem unnecessary can be the tool that our enemy uses to gain access to other areas within our building.  No matter what the structure is, to someone that structure holds an importance to their lives and something inside that structure has proven to be of value to them.

I am reminded of the old movie “Home Alone” where the burglars arrive at the house dressed up as policeman and “warning” the people about the potential of them being robbed.  The occupants of the house inform the office that they will be leaving for the holidays and no one will be around for a set amount of time.  While the occupants believed that they were giving the proper information to the authorities the enemy had penetrated into the outer court of the house and had established vital information concerning the house.  The information passed along was a good idea but the enemy had disguised himself well enough that to the average and relaxed eye nothing seemed out of the norm.  This is an example of how our enemy penetrates our lives and gains so called unimportant information from us.

Doors provide stability and strength to the structure.  I have seen many houses and buildings that have been destroyed by storms or earthquakes and one thing that most of these buildings have in common is that the doorway of that structure is still standing after the storm is over.  Looking at some old church buildings from other countries in which the entire church has suffered damage, the old archway of the door still remains standing and accessible in and out.  I find this phenomenon very fascinating since a doorway or entry way is the focal point of an attack but is usually left standing after the damage has been done.

Since the physical structures have doors then we can safely contend that we as humans have some type of door that leads into our lives.  Everyone who has been associated with western civilization has at one time in their lives seen a picture of Jesus standing at a door and knocking.  We all who have seen this portrait understand its message either by attending church, seeing the picture and asking about its meaning or by just figuring it out on our own.  

Doors have very special meanings in our lives since they are the key in which we allow ourselves be accessed, just as the physical structures.  The same set of circumstances occur when our doors are attacked spiritually but in many of our cases we tend to miss these attacks until access has already been gained or in other cases we have voluntarily opened these doors to our enemies and ten stand in shock when they actually come in and destroy our inner most beings.  It is easy for us to figure out that if houses, buildings and malls have doors that lead to inner shops then our inner beings have the same type of structure.

I am not going to leave myself out of this category since it deals with a very sensitive subject.  I have allowed these doors to be penetrated during my life, all of us have.  Ever since I have learned about this concept I have been on a constant “search and destroy mission” trying to close all of the doors that are open to my enemy.  It is a very large process since once that door is opened it takes a great deal of searching in order to close the effects that the open door has allowed inside.  See, there are many doors that are within our life and many of them the majority of people do not know about, and to be honest we ourselves do not understand.  Doors come with us due to the spiritual nature that we are born with which is a very important reason to know and understand your heritage no matter what the circumstances are in your life.  Many traits that lie within us are targets for our enemy to use against us and if we open that door then you can bet your bottom dollar that he will take advantage of the intelligence.

For all of us old folks we can remember a game show called “Let’s Make A Deal”.  It was a show where people would dress up in funny costumes and sit in the audience and wait for the host to come by and notice them.    When this happened the host would ask a few general questions about the person and then ask if they wanted to play the game.  Deals were the name of the game and it was everyone’s expectations to find out what was behind one of the three doors, which whatever was behind the door that they picked was exactly what their prize was going to be.  Goats, pigs, cheese, cars, cash, and boats were the common prizes but also mud, trash and other disgusting items were there as well but it was theirs because they chose that door.

I find it funny and sad at the same time of people who cry foul when things occur to them and when you ask a few simple questions it becomes clear that they have allowed this situation to present itself by their own accord.  They ask for help in understanding the situation and then, when a certain person begins to try and show them the ways that it happened they react in a non friendly manner towards that person and tells them to go away with their advice.  We see this activity every day in our lives and it is even being promoted in the media and on the daily television shows that we watch with bated breath.  Stop and think about this for a moment, or even longer and look at the results that this sort of activity will have upon our children; or if I can put it another way, a door for our children.

DLB

Part II to follow….