Fear can be
troublesome. Fear can prevent us from
experiencing the fullness of life. Fear
can dominate a person’s life in very unhealthy ways. I have spent more time than I would like to
admit experiencing unhealthy fear. It
was not a good thing for me and I don’t like it.
It would not be good
for a person to live in continual fear.
However, it’s
helpful for us to remember that fear can have a useful purpose in life, too. Fear is part of the natural alert system that
is wired into us. The emotion of fear
exists for a reason. There are times in
life when it is reasonable, natural and even helpful to experience fear because
there is something that demands the kind of focus that only fear brings.
Occasionally people
have told me they don’t want to turn to God purely out of fear. I understand that comment and I would be
quick to point out that there are many valid reasons to turn to God that are
not motivated by fear—His unfailing love for us would be a great example. No one will ever love us more than God loves
us. That’s a very good reason to turn to
God and walk with Him.
We would be wise not
to underestimate the usefulness of fear.
Fear can, sometimes, help us identify what we really understand to be
true. Fear, in the right context, can
help bring tremendous clarity regarding what we genuinely believe.
There are 16
instances of Jesus saying, “don’t be afraid” in the gospels. The God who loves us does not want us to
experience needless fear. (I feel
compelled, for the sake of clarity, to write again, that fear is often unhealthy
and unhelpful. It is not good for a
person to live in continual fear. A life
of perpetual fear is not God’s desire for anyone.)
But Jesus also mentioned
an example of a healthy fear that we should have. He put it this way, “Do not be afraid of those
who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who
can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Matthew 10:28
We live in a culture
which has influenced us to believe that anything that makes us feel bad or
uncomfortable is morally suspect. So
fear is almost never considered to be a good or helpful emotion. I’m suggesting it is important for us to
recognize the value of fear and respect the truths that fear can reveal.
There are some things
we ought to be afraid of. If you are in
the woods and a bear is running toward you at full speed and you feel
absolutely no fear at all, you are not brave or courageous, you are a
fool.
In the right time,
place and context fear may not be such a bad thing, after all.
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