Living in a Culture of Fear
By Linda Rex
Recently I was glancing through an online news channel and came across an article about Beate Zschaepe. Ms. Zschaepe is a neo-Nazi, a terrorist who is on trial for the murder of eight people as well as for several bombings and bank robberies. The article went on to say that members of such ultra-right wing groups are actively working to “normalize” their groups in such a way that they are able to recruit children and youths, indoctrinating them at an early age into their political views and tactics.
It seems that everywhere I turn I am bombarded with one reason after another as to why I should be afraid of something or someone. On Facebook I read about the dangers of consuming aspartame and genetically modified foods. I hear on the radio about someone with a new scheme for stealing people’s personal data that I need to watch out for. I read about a new form of meth that’s being sold or some other reason why I don’t want my teenager in public school. I’m told by a friend about how their mother and father were tricked into losing their pension by a scam artist. The list goes on and on.
We live in a culture of fear. It seems that everywhere we turn there are more things to be afraid of or watch out for. We are busy striving to make sure we meet our obligations, handle our relationships well, and cut out some time to take care of ourselves. But it is never enough. It is no wonder many people end up with high blood pressure or stress-related diseases! We exist in a culture that can cause us to live constantly in a state of “fight or flight.” We’re always on the alert for something that could disrupt or ruin our life.
It seems to me that there is a mythology that goes along with this fear culture. It is the belief that somehow if we worked hard enough, were clever enough and used enough ingenuity, we could prevent all this bad stuff from happening, or at least could keep it from harming us and those we love. There seems to be an underlying belief that if we just had enough information, put out enough effort, we could keep ourselves safe and prevent all this craziness from touching us or those close to us. But then reality hits and we find we are just as vulnerable as the next person.
I am learning that living in a culture of fear requires that we be people of faith. Not faith in things or in people or in institutions or religions, but faith in that which is certain, dependable and trustworthy. We need someone or something bigger than we are that we can turn to in every situation and circumstance of our lives. Someday we will find ourselves in a place where there is no one to turn to but ourselves and we will find then that we are not enough. It is in that place that we come up against the truth about our humanness—that we are not divine, but fragile and temporal though we may indeed be valiant and brave.
We can face this truth of our need for something beyond ourselves in many ways, including despair and denial or rage. But at some point we will come face to face with the Divine, with that underlying, wise, loving Person in whom we “live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) At that point we can continue to live in fear of him or come to see him as he truly is—our loving, compassionate Daddy-God who wants nothing more than to live in a close, intimate relationship with us and to have us share in his life and love as Father, Son and Spirit.
Sadly, throughout the centuries, we as human beings have chosen our own path, to determine for ourselves what is right and what is wrong, and to live independently of him as though he didn’t exist at all. Yet God has been doing everything possible to provide for us, to give our lives value and purpose, so we can live in a happy, meaningful relationship with him.
In fact, he came into our universe, bore a human body just like you and me, lived, suffered and died and rose again, so that we could live without fear, in a relationship of peace and trust and joy in him. As the person Jesus Christ, God the Word took upon himself our lives with all that we experience day by day—the fear, the suffering, the struggles as well as the joys and triumphs. He brought us into a relationship with God in himself that is like that of a beloved child with his parents. He demonstrated his great love for each of us in this way.
It is this great love which God expresses to us in Jesus Christ that takes away our fear. When we know and live in relationship with a living Lord who is involved in every detail of our lives each and every day, we no longer need to live in fear. When we see, hear or feel the fearful, negative things around begin to bombard us, we can allow them to overwhelm us. Or we can turn to our heavenly Father who through our loving Lord brought us into relationship with himself by the Holy Spirit. God is personally interested in everything about us and passionately seeks to protect us from or help us through everything that seeks to harm or destroy us.
God is real. His servants, who are ministering spirits, are also real. You are deeply loved and cared for. If and when bad things happen, God does not love you any less. In fact, in Christ, he experiences your pain, your struggle, or sorrow, and he goes through it with you because his Spirit is with you and in you.
It is a matter of faith. What, or who, do you trust in? Where do you turn when the world around you gets scary? All that you need is present in Jesus Christ—will you believe? If you find you can’t—feel free to ask him for the faith you need to believe. He has plenty of it to go around and some of it he meant for you to have so you could trust in him. Choose faith over fear. And begin to see the world through new eyes.
Thank you, Loving Father, that there is no reason for us to live in fear. Thank you for putting your angels around us, for leading and guiding us each and every day, even when we forget to ask or turn to you. Grant us faith to believe that you are ever with us and that you love us so deeply that we can live without fear each and every day. You are our trustworthy God. In Jesus Christ, we choose to trust you. Amen.
“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust ; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?” —Psalm 56:3-4 (NASB)
Our Life in the Trinity 