Someone recently said to me, “You sure are naïve.” I’m not sure what the incident was about at the time, and I was a little bit hurt by that saying.

What did he mean that I am naïve? I have been giving this some thought and at this point, I remember quite a few people labeling me as naïve. Therefore, if people are right, it must be true.

Yet, is it really that bad?

Leaving the house the other day the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage said, “Drive carefully.” I stopped, turned around, put my hands on my hips and said, “Wow, you just destroyed my driving. I was not planning on driving carefully.” She laughed.

The secret of naivety is taking things literally. When people take things literally they usually take it out of context and it does not sound that good. When the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage says, “Drive carefully,” all she is saying is “Goodbye, hope to see you later.” That is all.

I do not believe for one moment she thinks I am a careless driver. I have never had a serious accident in my entire driving career. Plus, I’m the one that taught her how to drive a car. Don’t let that get out, it’s our secret.

Being naïve can have its advantages. Most people look at the negative side of naivety and do not consider there is a positive sign. Being naïve simply means that you have a very simple approach to life.

That explains me completely. I have a very simple approach to everything in my life. I do not like complicated things.

The other week I was working on my computer and having all kinds of problems with it. It was very complicated. I took it to someone to help me with it, he looked at it and said, “That’s a simple fix. You sure are naïve.” He did not know it at the time, but I was taking that as a compliment.

I do not want my life complicated. I love the simple things in life. If somebody cannot snicker me, they cannot snicker anybody. I am easy prey for the simplest con artist.

Walking out of Publix the other day I noticed the Girl Scouts had a table selling cookies. I tried walking by but as I passed a little girl with big brown eyes looked at me and said, “Sir, will you… ” and before she could say, “buy some cookies,” I said, “Yes, give them all to me.”

I enjoyed those cookies, which was a result of my naivety. Of course, when I brought all those boxes of cookies home my wife looked at me, smiled and said, “The girls got you again.”

Because I am so naïve in many areas, I accept the fact that people are going to take advantage of me.

Through the years, I have learned to handle that and not let it affect me. If someone wants to take advantage of me, it says a whole lot about their life. If their life is so boring and complicated that they need to swindle me, I’m glad to help out.

I do not have to worry about my naivety because my backup plan is in full force. That backup plan keeps me from some major swindling efforts in my direction. I must say that that backup plan has been my rescue all through my life.

Of course, I am naïve. Of course, I can quickly and easily be swindled. But, and this is a big “but,” my backup plan has never failed me yet. My simplicity in life has been guarded and protected by this wonderful backup plan.

I believe in the simple things in life and I know I am far from being socially sophisticated. I do not know what that even means. I just have a hard time believing that anybody would lie to me. I could write a book about all the people that have swindled me and got away with it. However, here I am as happy and naïve as ever.

I can be naïve because I have an inner focus and not so much an outward focus. What is going on around me does not change what is going on inside me. That is why I depend a lot on my “Backup Plan.” This plan has been with me just about all my life and I do not know what I would do without it.

Someone once asked me, “What is this backup plan you talk about?” I smiled a very naïve smile and said most enthusiastically, “The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage is my backup plan.”

If someone can snicker her, there is no help for the rest of the world’s population. I would hate being the person trying to snicker her!

This Backup Plan has been my salvation through all the social inadequacies I have. If it were not for her, my naivety would have destroyed me a long time ago. It is nice having a reliable backup plan.

I have found another backup plan that I can rely upon. Solomon said, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

My spiritual naivety is backed up by simply trusting God for everything, every day of my life. This is my spiritual backup plan.

Since 1997, Rev. James L. Snyder has written a weekly religion/humor column, “Out To Pastor,” syndicated to over 300 newspapers and many websites. The Rev. Snyder is an award winning author whose writings have appeared in more than eighty periodicals including GUIDEPOSTS. In Pursuit of God: The Life of A. W. Tozer, Snyder’s first book, won the Reader’s Choice Award in 1992 by Christianity Today. Snyder has authored and edited 30 books altogether.

James L. Snyder was given an honorary doctorate degree (Doctor of Letters) by Trinity College in Florida. His weekly humor column, “Out To Pastor,” is syndicated to more than 325 weekly newspapers.

Through 45 years of ministry, he and his wife Martha have been involved in three church-planting projects prior to their current ministry at the Family of God Fellowship in Ocala, Florida. The Snyders have three children and nine grandchildren and one great-grandson.

He/God promised us life after death which according to the bible, is a life without suffering, misery or sin. Comparing that life with today’s world, won’t you rather be part of eternal life? Of course Yes! And the way to achieve it is through salvation.

Salvation is freeing yourself from sin by being born again and upholding the Christian teachings. Basically, it is the most important thing and not money, cars, and reputations. This is understood from both the new and old testament. From the Old Testament, sacrifices were made to cleanse people of sin and in the New Testament, Jesus died as the ultimate sacrifice.

Evidently, salvation helps us reconcile with God. Through the blood of His only son, Jesus Christ, we are reunited with Him and according to John 3:16, we save ourselves from death by acquiring eternal life. Truth is, we are all sinners, Romans 3:23, we, therefore, have been given a second chance to life through salvation.

In addition, salvation is important since it helps us break free of the original sin. What this means is that evil was born to the world after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit disobeying God introducing death (Roman 5:12). What followed is that no one is exempted from Adam’s sin as stated in Romans 5:18, everybody dies. For this reason, salvation is the only way to remain assured you are no longer condemned to eternal death just for being Adam’s children.

Entering the life of salvation also brings out the best in us. When we become filled with the Holy Spirit, our actions reflect on what it means to be a saved Christian. We become a light in the world following in Jesus’s footsteps. His death and resurrection helped us walk with Him in spirit through accepting our souls to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In essence, the soul is the one thing we should look to save from hell. It is worth more than anything in the world, Mark 8:36-37.

Moreover, salvation establishes a personal connection with God as well. We know He exists, and He knows us (1 Cor 8:3) but not all know Him personally. The path of salvation, therefore, gives us a platform to gain a deeper knowledge about God and His teachings creating a personal connection. Consequently, we become friends with God through salvation.<br>

In conclusion, Christians need salvation to find their true purpose and is the bridge between us and God. We should stay away from evil to avoid the penalties of sin through salvation.