Fear Not!
Fear is one of those human emotions that we all feel at times, and which can be healthy. Fear of deadly snakes is good, fear of big trucks going 75 mph can be healthy. At times scripture itself says we should fear God. All too often though, fear exerts a paralyzing grip on us, even preventing us from accomplishing the very things we say we want. A couple of generations ago, in his first of four inaugural addresses Franklin Roosevelt said that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." At that point the country had been mired in the Great Depression for a couple of years and we were three and a half years removed from the disastrous crashes of October 1929. In this context Roosevelt spoke what amounted to brilliant words. I've heard that FDR had a second rate intellect, but a first rate temperament. The first rate temperament was on display in those words. He correctly realized that as long as the nation was gripped in fear, banks would not loan money, businesses wouldn't invest, people would not spend, etc. perpetuating the very thing they feared.
Just a few days ago, yours truly, who can be one of the stubbornest humans on the planet, succumbed to plain old ordinary fear. I'm registered to do a marathon in a month, and because this winter has been more like South Dakota than South Carolina, my training has been spotty. Last Friday, I was going to do a 20 mile run. Doing two or three of these is the real meat and potatoes of marathon training, yet I hadn't been able to do one yet, and my own psyche wasn't the best. I planned out my route last Thursday and knew where I'd be able to get water at roughly every 5 miles. I was all set. Thursday night however, I let myself get started watching a movie that came on way too late. I knew I shouldn't have and went to bed at well past midnight knowing that there was no way I'd get in 20. Sure enough Friday morning I felt like something the cat would drag up to the doorstep and 20 miles didn't happen. I beat myself up about this a good bit on Friday, and came to the realization that I had acted out of pure fear. I had unconsciously sabotaged the run. Perhaps I had feared the necessary pain that comes with such an effort. Maybe I had been afraid that I might be really ready to run and still have a lousy effort that would hurt my confidence. I felt so crummy that there was no way I could have attempted it. My legs didn't hurt a bit last Friday. But on the other hand, at the end of the day I was no closer to being marathon ready, which was the ultimate goal.
I will confess also to being a totally unreformed and unrepentant historian. In 1916 during World War I, the German and British fleets met in what was nearly a naval Armageddon. For centuries the British navy had held a reputation, earned in blood, of being the finest in the world. In the decades leading up to the war Germany had invested a fortune in trying to outpace the British, and when war broke out their battlefleet rivaled the vaunted Royal Navy. At the Battle of Jutland the two fleets slugged it out like a pair of heavy weight boxers. Both navies retired back to their ports with the Germans having given as well as they had taken. In the aftermath of this battle, though, the Germans never sent their fleet out. Having been bloodied once they never risked their magnificent fleet again even though they had successfully stood toe to toe with the Royal Navy. At the end of the war these fine ships were all surrendered to the allies, having never been risked again.
On a far more important level fear can be devastating in the Christian life. How often does the Bible say, "fear not," "be strong and of good courage, "perfect love casts out fear," and other similar phrases? It is possible for churches to be gripped by a spirit of fear just as surely as I was last week. When this happens all thought of ministry and outreach immediately become secondary to survival. Sure we may pay lip service to making disciples, to missions, to acting in faith, but inwardly we are gripped and possessed by fear. When that happens it doesn't matter how much money the stewardship campaign raised, it will never be enough. It doesn't matter how many volunteers are available, it won't be enough. Gripped by this spirit a church will surely husband its resources, will never dip into its reserves, will never overtax its volunteers. However, in this spirit's grip it will never, ever act in faith that God will provide what it lacks. It will never, ever make the making of disciples as its highest goal. In the end it will most assuredly die despite the people's goal of survival. I recently heard about a small local church that had been in decline. Its treasurer treated the bank balance like a state secret, and nobody dared ask this intimidating figure how much money they had. The attendance dwindled from 30 to 25 to 15, until the conference had to close its doors. When the affairs of the church were being settled, it was discovered that there were nearly $300,000 in the bank.
Never, my friends, make mere survival your goal. In the end you will never accomplish any goal you may say you want, and in the end you will fail even to survive.
Just a few days ago, yours truly, who can be one of the stubbornest humans on the planet, succumbed to plain old ordinary fear. I'm registered to do a marathon in a month, and because this winter has been more like South Dakota than South Carolina, my training has been spotty. Last Friday, I was going to do a 20 mile run. Doing two or three of these is the real meat and potatoes of marathon training, yet I hadn't been able to do one yet, and my own psyche wasn't the best. I planned out my route last Thursday and knew where I'd be able to get water at roughly every 5 miles. I was all set. Thursday night however, I let myself get started watching a movie that came on way too late. I knew I shouldn't have and went to bed at well past midnight knowing that there was no way I'd get in 20. Sure enough Friday morning I felt like something the cat would drag up to the doorstep and 20 miles didn't happen. I beat myself up about this a good bit on Friday, and came to the realization that I had acted out of pure fear. I had unconsciously sabotaged the run. Perhaps I had feared the necessary pain that comes with such an effort. Maybe I had been afraid that I might be really ready to run and still have a lousy effort that would hurt my confidence. I felt so crummy that there was no way I could have attempted it. My legs didn't hurt a bit last Friday. But on the other hand, at the end of the day I was no closer to being marathon ready, which was the ultimate goal.
I will confess also to being a totally unreformed and unrepentant historian. In 1916 during World War I, the German and British fleets met in what was nearly a naval Armageddon. For centuries the British navy had held a reputation, earned in blood, of being the finest in the world. In the decades leading up to the war Germany had invested a fortune in trying to outpace the British, and when war broke out their battlefleet rivaled the vaunted Royal Navy. At the Battle of Jutland the two fleets slugged it out like a pair of heavy weight boxers. Both navies retired back to their ports with the Germans having given as well as they had taken. In the aftermath of this battle, though, the Germans never sent their fleet out. Having been bloodied once they never risked their magnificent fleet again even though they had successfully stood toe to toe with the Royal Navy. At the end of the war these fine ships were all surrendered to the allies, having never been risked again.
On a far more important level fear can be devastating in the Christian life. How often does the Bible say, "fear not," "be strong and of good courage, "perfect love casts out fear," and other similar phrases? It is possible for churches to be gripped by a spirit of fear just as surely as I was last week. When this happens all thought of ministry and outreach immediately become secondary to survival. Sure we may pay lip service to making disciples, to missions, to acting in faith, but inwardly we are gripped and possessed by fear. When that happens it doesn't matter how much money the stewardship campaign raised, it will never be enough. It doesn't matter how many volunteers are available, it won't be enough. Gripped by this spirit a church will surely husband its resources, will never dip into its reserves, will never overtax its volunteers. However, in this spirit's grip it will never, ever act in faith that God will provide what it lacks. It will never, ever make the making of disciples as its highest goal. In the end it will most assuredly die despite the people's goal of survival. I recently heard about a small local church that had been in decline. Its treasurer treated the bank balance like a state secret, and nobody dared ask this intimidating figure how much money they had. The attendance dwindled from 30 to 25 to 15, until the conference had to close its doors. When the affairs of the church were being settled, it was discovered that there were nearly $300,000 in the bank.
Never, my friends, make mere survival your goal. In the end you will never accomplish any goal you may say you want, and in the end you will fail even to survive.
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