Cast Out Fear

Fear, in the biblical message (both Old and New Testaments) is considered to be the root of all evil.  It is fear that makes us selfish, fear that makes us hate, fear that makes us blind, it is fear that makes us  blame, and fear that makes us focus on walls to keep others out.  That is why throughout the gospel accounts, Jesus is always saying, “Be not afraid.”  In those three small words, it seems to me, Jesus is telling us that this universe is a friendly place.  There is room and there is enough for everyone.  Do not be afraid.   Isaiah says that we grow and thrive only when fear is cast off and we take others into “the family.”  He says,   “Enlarge the limits of your home, spread wide the curtains of your tent.  Let out its ropes to the full and drive the pegs home” (54:2). Fear casts out love just as love casts out fear.  Which do you choose:  “Fear or Love?”  

Malcolm Muggeridge writes, “God cannot see a sparrow fall to the ground without concern, and has counted the hairs on each head, so that all that lives deserves our respect and reverence, and no one person can conceivably be more important, of greater significance, or in any way more deserving of consideration than any other.  God is our father, we are his children and so one family, brothers and sisters together.”

There is no indication in the biblical witness (when really heard) that God only sees certain sparrows fall to the ground, or has counted the hairs on the heads of only certain people.  All men and women of whatever nationality, religion, or race are brothers and sisters in one family.  

Psychology tells us that fear is one of the most powerful emotions known to humankind, perhaps more powerful than love.  It is instinctual and is triggered in the most primitive part of our brain. It protects us and keeps us safe.  But when we live in constant fear, when that fear is nurtured, exaggerated, and constantly fed,  our humanness and the humanness of others is diminished, because we begin to see and feel that everything and everyone is a threat to our security.  This instinct of fear is easily aroused and that is precisely what is happening in America today.  It has happened over and over again in history.   But the biblical witness is that we need not be afraid.  “Fear not.”  “Love one another.”  Do not let fear rule your life or the life of this nation.  The universe is a friendly place and there is room and there is enough for all God’s children.

Have you seen a seagull walking on the shore?
Have you seen a seagull in flight?  The difference
is absolutely astounding!