How many of choices, votes, habits, relationships are driven by fear? How many decisions to follow Jesus and baptisms are a vote against hell rather than a vote for Jesus…fearing what might happen if we don’t? How many things do we do or buy or think about because we think there is scarcity and we might not have or get what we think we need or deserve much less the value or privilege that comes from having what others don’t? How many commercials (not just political) play the fear game…making you think you are less than unless you have the latest and greatest? How about how we view ourselves…how much of our self worth is enmeshed in the opinions of other than in the reality of the value God has given us apart from public opinion? How many times are we held in slavery not really by a substance but by the fear of what life would be without our coping mechanism. Fear makes us greedily grasp for something to cover our perceived nakedness…grope and scramble to fortify our vulnerabilities and sugarcoat all that is sour in our lives.
There are few instances in life where you will be better off making a fear-driven decisions rather than decisions made out of wholeness and peace (shalom). So be at peace and let the world carry on with its foolish, never ending fear mongering. Don’t get caught up in the games and you will be better for it.
“For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice,
but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” – 2 Timothy 1:6-7
One Response
Difficult one, Matt…
● Some people respond better to fear of problems than to promise of rewards, and it can vary from situation to situation.
● At an earlier part of Jesus’s ministry he had sent his disciples out thru Israel with instruction not to take any resources with them, and the Holy Spirit kept them safe. Then before going to Gethsemane, told his disciples to make sure they had the resources with them (money, provisions and the where-with-all to defend themselves if necessary) from that time forward [Luke 22: 35-36]. Thus, even the Lord advised prudence for fear of need, as no physical security necessarily existed for individual Christians after Jesus was taken up to Heaven. At various points in history from then on, various groups of Christians, making the mistake of thinking they were invulnerable because they believed in Christ, found themselves in dire physical straits. This was a main reason for the founding of monastic military orders like the Knights Templar, the Knights of St John, and the Teutonic Knights during the time of the Crusades.
● “So be at peace and let the world carry on with its foolish, never ending fear mongering. Don’t get caught up in the games and you will be better for it.” The ‘alien-catch-all’ test you use for Wineskins registration is there because of fear of infiltration, no? Infiltration by what? What are you afraid of?
● The Bible states, “Fear of God is the beginning of knowledge.” [Proverbs 7: 1].
● Solomon said, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.” [Ecclesiastes 12: 13].