When you check in at an airport before a flight you are warned not to accept anything from an unknown person. And you think to yourself, “Why would anyone ever do that?” But listen to this story:

Robert and Angela Barry and their son reached the last day of their Florida vacation and were packed and ready to head home to Grove City, Ohio. Just before they left the hotel there was a knock on their door. It was a little girl who was staying with her family in the same hotel and she had a teddy bear that she gave to the Barry’s ten year old son as a gift to take home with them. So they packed the teddy bear in their luggage and left for the Orlando airport.

When their luggage was x-rayed, airport security personnel spotted a loaded 22-caliber handgun stuffed inside of the teddy bear. The Miami Herald later reported that the gun had been stolen in California in 1996.

So maybe it’s not such a dumb question to be asked at an airport! But the lesson for us is not to be paranoid or to live in fear, but to be wise and careful. And the warning goes beyond airport security.

The Bible warns of false teachers who will secretly introduce false teachings. So when “teddy bear” teachers or leaders come our way – even in the church – we need to run them through the x-ray of the Bible, the x-ray of prayer, the x-ray of wisdom and the x-ray of common sense. Be sure to check out what they are saying – before you snuggle up too close!