Tag Archives: fear

Fear is powerful…but it’s weak too

01 Thursday Mar 2018

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Fear is a powerful tool.  It’s a tool that is used to manipulate people.  It’s a tool used to make people do things they otherwise wouldn’t do, say things they wouldn’t normally say.  Fear makes people irrational.  Given enough fear, a person is willing to do just about anything to get away from the fear.

Fear has been used throughout history to get people to do things they don’t want to do.  Fear was used in employment – do this or else.

Fear has been used in politics and is still used today.  Fear is what drives us to implement bad policy that is costly and actually makes situations worse.  Fear has a ripple effect.

Fear has been used in religion and is still used by some.  There are some who preach a message of fear.

Using fear is a great way to get people to work harder, to get votes, to raise money, to demand compliance, and to get away from with things that aren’t right.

We could spend a great deal of time talking about the fears that we face here in the US in 2018.  But that would really be beating a dead horse.  We know what these fears are.  And honestly, I don’t think fear is that powerful.  Or at least, it doesn’t have to be.

It only is as powerful as the permission we give it.

Which ultimately makes it very weak.  Fear only has as much power as we hand over to it.  Fear has to seek permission.  It has to receive permission to be effective.

And we are not compelled to hand over the permission.  Too often, we willingly hand over permission to fear.

We aren’t called to live in fear – at least not by God.  Certain politicians and religious figures proclaim a gospel of fear, but that isn’t Godly.  That’s a person wanting to be needed.  That’s person who is weak wanting to be seen as strong.

Ditch the fear – it isn’t worth it.

Do we actually believe?

08 Wednesday Jun 2016

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We’ve entered a sad time.  I’m not just talking about the supposed choice of two very lacking candidates for office.   We’ve entered a time when we are openly angry, fearful, disrespectful and outraged at each other.  We’ve entered a time of us vs. them within our own society.  We’ve entered a time when we rationalize away pleasantness and respect because our opponents are enemies or worse.  I can’t tell you how many social media posts, bumper sticker, and conversations I have heard or seen where people are so openly disrespectful to one another – all in the name of being right.

Christians fighting over partisan politics – what happened to Christianity being our foundation?  Is partisan politics more important and a more important part of our identity than Christ?  Why would we trade in God for partisan politics?  So we can feel justified and right and righteous and better than those poor saps who are too stupid to know any better?  Are we turning into Pharisees?

Americans fighting over who will rule over them – Is party and candidate support more important and a more important part of our identity than country?  How long can a house divided last?  How long until we feel that rhetoric isn’t effective and we turn to something more “effective” to get our way?

People are pissed off at one another over so much – race, sexuality, government programs, campaigns, etc.  We’re so concerned with who has the right beliefs that we are willing to fight with ourselves over everything.  How long until we start offering damnation again?

This is not healthy.  As Christians, this is not what we are called to or who we are called to be.  We aren’t called to be right.  We aren’t called to point out the speck in our neighbor’s eye.  We aren’t called to rip apart another Christian or anyone else for that matter because their beliefs and opinions don’t line up with our own.  We are called to make disciples.  We are called to serve.  We are called to live out our beliefs, not hit others over the head with them.

We are called to lay anger and fear aside.  We are called to act like adults, not children fighting in a sand box.  Frankly, I’m tired of the ranting and the temper tantrums that I hear and see.  Enough already.  Enough.  Aren’t you tired of the anger that is seething from so many people and into your own life?   Aren’t you tired of being angry and offended?  Aren’t you tired of living in fear of other people?  Aren’t you tired of tearing down those who disagree with you?  Aren’t you tired of demonizing and insulting others who don’t see the world the way you do?  Aren’t you tired of always showing just how right you think you are?

I’m tired of it.  Physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually.  This constant fighting and bickering and always having to be right was the reason I left partisan politics as a career.  It drains the life out of you.

And yet it seems like there is no escape – it is like a black hole that sucks everything and everyone into its gravitational pull of fear and anger.  Enough already.

For the love of God, please stop.  For the love of country, please stop.  Instead of focusing on how wrong and bad and evil people who are not like you are, can we just for a moment to see their humanity?  Can we look past their beliefs to see them as a person?  Can we look past their skin color to see that they have the same anatomy as you?  Can we look past their sexuality to see that they too are children of God and part of creation?  Can we look past their politics to see that they are passionate because they care about the country just like you do and want to see the country do well, just like you do?  Can we look past religious differences to see that we worship the same God?  Can we look past the label we give them?  Can we?  Please?  I’m begging you.  For my own sanity and for everyone’s safety.  Where we are headed is not a good place to be.  Don’t blame it on God if we go there.  It’s our own sin of ego that will take us there.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.  We have the freedom to choose how we live and how we respond.  We can respond with belittling and insult when we feel insulted and belittled, or we can do what we are called to do – turn the other cheek.  We can offer violent rhetoric in response to violent rhetoric, or we can do what we are called to do – offer love and forgiveness and grace.  We can prove just how right we think we are, or we can show what we believe in how we live our lives and act towards others.

Believe me, it feels justified to respond to an insult and supposed attack by striking back.  It feels good.  It may even feel right at the time.  We were attacked after all – we have every right to respond in kind.  We have to defend ourselves.

But when does it end?  How can we expect the Kingdom of God to come if we remove ourselves from it or are actively blocking the Kingdom from coming?  How can we expect peace to come when we aren’t willing to take the first step and be the peacemaker?  How can we expect respect and love when we aren’t willing to be the ones to first offer respect and love to our enemies?

Jesus didn’t say love the people who love you.  He said to love your enemies.  This isn’t easy.  Following Christ isn’t easy – it’s really inconvenient to what we’d rather do.  Now would be a good time to start following Jesus command though.  Our enemies aren’t somewhere out there, somewhere in a foreign land who worship differently and speak a different language.  We have enemies right here in our own country – at least that is how we treat our fellow citizens.  Why don’t we start right here and right now?  Why don’t we start with the people who are supporting a different candidate for office?  Why don’t we start with people who practice a different religion, use a different language, have a different sexuality, are different than ourselves?

Why are we waiting for someone else to be the first to offer grace, love and forgiveness?  Do we think Jesus was talking to someone else?  Why not be the one who starts?  Why not be the one who takes Christ’s command seriously as if it were directed to you?  Yes you!  Why not be the one who actually puts their beliefs into action and shows people how transformative those beliefs truly are?

Or are you afraid of something?  Afraid that your beliefs are just hollow thoughts?  Are you afraid of losing control of your life?  Are you afraid that your life will be changed?  Here’s a hint – when you follow Christ, you do lose control of your life and your life will be changed.  Guaranteed.

We have a choice – We can live in fear and anger and be in control, or we can take a leap of faith, be out of control and live out the beliefs that we claim to hold dear and see how the world is transformed by Jesus.  What will it be?  It’s time to put up or shut up.

Prophets and fear and anger

24 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by in Humanity, Society, Theology

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One of the speakers at the Festival of Homiletics was Karoline Lewis, a Lutheran professor of preaching at Luther Seminary.

Here’s the summary version of something she talked about that caught my attention.

  • Prophets are truth tellers of the present – that is how they can predict the future.   When we speak of the truth of the present, we can point to what the truth of the present will lead to, inevitably.

I really like that definition.  It moves us away from the idea that prophecy is just a prediction of the future.  It focuses more on the present and says “hello people, this is what is going to happen if you continue on this course.”

When I think back through biblical prophecy with this in mind, it changes up so much of the prophets message for me.  And it is actually very encouraging.  It moves us away from the soothe-sayer model or the doom and gloom modern day end-times preachers like to use.  Often I wonder if that type of preaching is really about selling more books or other things so you can be “prepared” for the coming destruction.

No offense, but if everything is going to be destroyed, then you really don’t need anything – you’re just screwed.  If they really bought into the idea of end-times destruction, they should be urging their followers to sell everything and sit by waiting patiently.  But then again, where’s the fear in waiting patiently right?  You can’t manipulate people’s emotions when they are calmly waiting can you?

Here’s what I see.  Fear and anger have a firm grip on people around the world.  I’m not sure why really.  Maybe this isn’t even really accurate.  It’s the common thought of today, but I wonder if it is something different.

I wonder if it’s really the other way around.  Are we, as a people, gripping onto fear and anger – holding onto these things tightly?  Fear and anger don’t exist on their own.  They have no power or life just existing in the ether, floating around deciding who to strike.  No, rather fear and anger have to be grabbed at and pulled in to ourselves.  We have to consume them.  Yet, my question is this – why would we do this?

I think there are a few answers.  Our world is in the midst of some serious changes.  There is uncertainty (not that there was certainty before, but now the uncertainty can’t be avoided).  People don’t know the answer to the question of what life is about – they have no answer right now.  There is a serious lack of leadership and vision.  And there is a great deal of anxiety – which is not helped by the 24-hour news cycle which has to find things that pass as news.  I’m sure you could add to this list.

Fear and anger are raw emotions.  I wonder if people grab onto them because both fear and anger provide something that people aren’t getting somewhere else.  I wonder if the fear and anger give people the feeling of being alive, which gives people a sense of certainty in one are of their life – They are certain they are alive.  They may be really upset about it, but they are alive.  Everything else in their world is changing and fluid, yet the fear and anger is like a last defense ensuring that those who grip onto fear and anger know that they are alive and have not changed.  The anger and the fear immobilize a person from changing or thinking differently or acting differently.  When your whole world changes around you, it impacts your very identity and how you relate to the world.  If you didn’t go into the changing world willingly and with an open mind, what would you expect would happen?  You’d resist anything that “forced” you to change, rather than changing the world around you.

In a sense, I get the fear and anger of Americans – we’ve been sold a lie that tells us that we are the center of the universe and everything else will change to meet our desires and wishes.  And here we are finding out the truth.  We aren’t the center of the universe, we never were.  And we want someone to pay for the lie.  Which is still believing the lie to some degree.

So, where does this all lead.  If we continue holding tightly onto fear and anger, it leads to war.  There are several nationalist politicians that are winning elections in the world.  Nationalism doesn’t have room for peace or diversity or a range of thinking.  Nationalism is the sin of believing that “we’re exceptional” which means everyone else is not.  My question is how long will it be until we find ourselves in a war?  We are repeating history yet again.  And we are going into the same cycle gladly, waving the flag as we go – ready to spill blood.  But for what?

Fear and anger lead to death.  They are not life-giving.  Fear and anger are insecure and miserable.  And we know that misery loves company.  Fear and anger love to divide and determine who’s in and who’s out.  Fear and anger love to scapegoat enemies – someone has to take the blame and God forbid we look at ourselves and our clenched hands holding so tightly onto fear and anger as if they were security blankets that could keep us safe.

This is not a good way to live.  And we don’t have to go down this path.  God has given us the ability to let go of the fear and anger in our lives.  Yes, it might be a bit scary, but let us go forward in uncertainty rather than certain death.

As for me, I refuse to live in fear and anger.  Even though the world around me changes, I will remain calm.  I will continue to change as well.  I will remain calm.  Change is the only certainty in this world.  I will embrace it calmly knowing that I am not the center of the universe.

We need people who can be a calm presence.  We need people who can take a breath and put a hand on a neighbor’s back and ask them to take a breath with them.  The way past fear and anger is to make eye contact with those that are gripping tightly to fear and anger.  It’s to move them from constant anxiety to taking a breath.  Fear and anger are irrational.  Taking a breath may seem automatic, but not when someone is fearful and angry.  Take a breath.  A deep long breath.  One where you can feel the air going throughout your body.  One where you feel alive.  And let go of the fear and anger.  Embrace the uncertainty.  That is where is where God is.  That is where we find our meaning.  That is where we can walk together.  That is where life is.  Breathe.

How can large groups of people suddenly…

21 Thursday Apr 2016

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How do large groups of people suddenly change what they do or how they think in a short period of time?  It’s something I’ve been thinking about lately.  It’s something I’ve heard others talk about and wonder.  How do so many people vote for a certain candidate when not even a year ago this candidate was considered a celebrity candidate who wasn’t serious about running?  How do people all of sudden make a dramatic shift in belief about a social issue?  How do people all of a sudden jump on board blaming another group of people for their problems or safety concerns?

I don’t have the answers for those questions.  I’m not sure anyone does really.  I also don’t think there is one answer to these questions.  I think the answers are complex and go beyond rational reasoning.

I do have a few theories though.  I’d love to hear your thoughts about what causes large groups of people to suddenly change position and do what was impossible just a short time before.

I think part of the answer lies in the herd mentality.  It’s when people get into a group, they often stop thinking as individuals.  The group takes on a life of it’s own.  There’s  psychology that talks about this.  It’s a weird phenomenon, yet I think most people are aware that it exists and have experienced it at least once.

Secondly, I think social pressure plays a part to why large groups of people would do an about face suddenly.  There are few things more important to people than social acceptance.  People will do a complete change on just about anything in order to be seen as fitting in.  Social pressure is a powerful motivator.  It’s been used quite effectively in the past to get people to do some violent things, or adopt some very violent ways of thinking.

Third, authority.  People succumb to threats by those in authority.  I think this links with the second point.  And sometimes we may not even realize what’s going on.  I received a phone call from a 202 area code – which is the area code for Washington, DC.  It was a recording of someone claiming to be an IRS agent who was calling me to resolved a situation in which I was being accused of tax fraud.  I was to call a given number immediately to avoid penalties and possible jail time.  When you are sitting there and it hasn’t happened to you, you are probably thinking, oh, that’s fraud.  It was.  Yet, even knowing that, I still had something within me that had the urge to call.  I didn’t though.  I did report it to the IRS though.  Authority is still a very powerful motivator for people.  Those with authority have a deep responsibility to use it appropriately.

Fourth, having the answers.  Having the answers to questions is a powerful way to draw people in.  This is part of the draw to fundamentalist theologies and politics.  The preachers who adopt these beliefs have all the answers to life questions and about God – you know the most mysterious being in the universe.  It’s part of the draw to nationalistic and populist politics as well.  The leaders have all the answers to the problems the nation faces – you know, a nation of over 300 million people that covers something like half the continent.  It’s a human desire to want to have the answers – it’s very appealing.  Unfortunately, it’s usually a lie.

Lastly, Fear.  Fear drives people to do so many things. Fear is irrational and will cause people to give up what they value most and do really stupid or violent things.  Fear is a very powerful motivator.  Watch out when you hear someone preaching a message of fear – true in politics and religion.  The reality is probably that they want something out of you – loyalty or money or your vote or who knows what.  And when these people get in power, guess what they will use to stay there – more fear.

So how do you prevent yourself from being sucked in to all of this?  Great question.  Again, not something I have the answer to.  It’s not easy to dismiss these things, especially when they are put in our face constantly through electronic devices we keep shoving in our own faces.

I know this much – if you understand the “why” of something, you’ll figure out the “how” that works best for you.  What I mean is this:  If you know why it’s not good to be sucked into a crowd and crowd mentality, then you’ll figure out a way to be aware of it and ways to prevent yourself being sucked in.  That may be different methods for different people.

I also know that an approach that works for me is to really listen when I am confronted with someone in authority or a group speaking at me.  Listen to the words they are using.  Listen to your body and your reaction to it.  Are you tense, fearful, angry, etc.  It’s probably best pull yourself away from it.  Christians are told to fear not many times by Jesus.  Timeless advice for us to take in.

Can we all take a collective breath?

18 Wednesday Nov 2015

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Seriously.  The reactions to the attack in Paris are becoming almost as alarming as the attack itself.

I get it, there was an attack and lots of people died.  Not a good situation.  Very sad.  And I totally understand feeling anger over it too.  And the feeling of revenge and repayment.  Those are natural reactions.

I know this much, when I react to something from a state of anger, it usually doesn’t turn out well.  When I allow anger to control what I do, then I have become irrational and say and do stupid things.  Maybe you have better control over yourself when you are angry – if so, God love you.

The reactions to the attacks remind me of reactions to mass shootings – full of fear, anger and simplistic knee-jerk reactions and “solutions.”  No thought is given to the realities of the situation.  It’s just that we are going to do something and do it now (because we have to do something with our anger and fear) and right away regardless of whether what we do makes any sense, there is any evidence to support the position, or that the proposed action would actually prevent a future tragedy from happening again.

I know this much, anger and fear thrive where there is a lack of information.

So let me ask a question – how many refugees that have been let into the US since 9/11 (and have gone through the refugee screening process) have been the cause of any type of terrorist activity?

From what I have read, the answer is zero.

The source of this information that I found the easiest to read is The Hill, a Capitol Hill political insiders newspaper.  Here’s what they said:

“…there have been no recorded terrorist attacks committed by refugees. The U.S. has admitted 1.5 million refugees from the Middle East since September 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks that have occurred since 9/11 have been committed either by American natives or non-refugee immigrants.”

Source – The Hill

In other words, you should feel safer with a refugee who has gone through the screening process over some American born native people.  Let that sink in for a minute.

And this has been since 9/11 – meaning this has been the truth during both a Republican and Democrat administration – it’s not political spinning. It appears to me to be a government program that actually works – a rarity frankly.

So before we irrationally jump on the “kick out the refugees and close the borders” bandwagon, can we take a step back from our fear and anger and actually take a look at the situation?

What happened to America being the land where Lady Liberty had the following poem engraved into her pedestal in 1903:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

  • Emma Lazarus

Why do Christians live in fear?

13 Tuesday Oct 2015

Posted by in Humanity, Theology

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I don’t get it.  Maybe someone can explain this to me.  Why do Christians live in fear?  Wait, let me adjust that question.  Why do American Christians live in wide-spread fear?

Based on some of the news stories I read, this is a short list of some of the things that some Christians fear – Islam, gay marriage, alcohol, dancing, certain people getting elected, death, violence, guns, drugs, science, teachers, people from other countries, people who speak different languages, people in other political parties, climate change, driving a vehicle, flying, the dark, insects, flooding, snow, rain, and for good measure I’ll add these last two – their shadows and that the earth may be flat (You can’t make this stuff up).

That’s a whole lot of fear.  And it’s not just one political persuasion either.  Fear seems to be gripping many Christians these days.  Our culture is so concerned with safety that we have lost sight of some things.  Here’s a reality check – safety is nice, but it should not be the end-all-be-all of everything.

Here’s a few small examples of what I mean.  It seems like every time it snows the schools are closed as a “safety” precaution.  In fact, there have been times when the schools were closed the night before because of the prediction of heavy snow.  The next day, it was bright and sunny, with no snow.  Even when it does snow, the schools are canceled – there is fear that something might happen and someone would sue the school.  Can’t afford a lawsuit you know.

When it rains, we tell our kids to head inside, they might melt or catch a cold or something.  Can’t be too safe you know.

We tell our children not to talk to strangers for their safety because someone could abduct one of them.  But then they grow up and no one has told the person that it’s ok to talk with a stranger now.

We are always teaching our children.  Every time we tell our children not to do something, we are teaching them something important – that they should live in fear.

Every time it snows and we cancel school because someone could sue the school, we are teaching our children to fear. Every time it rains or snows and we tell them they have to stay inside instead of going out because it’s safer, we are teaching them fear. Every time we tell them they can’t read this or that, or talk about a certain subject because it might offend someone, we are teaching them fear. We are always teaching children something, the question is what we are teaching them. Unfortunately, it seems that our society is obsessed with teaching fear and valuing a false sense of security.

And this is odd for Christians – at least the Christianity that I am most familiar with.  Aren’t we told that bad stuff is going to happen, but that God will be with us through it.  Aren’t we told that people will get sick and die, but God will walk with us in this time of trial.  Aren’t we told that Jesus will be with us until the end of the age.  What happened to the message of hope and contentment?  What happened to the Christian message that bad stuff happens to people, but death is not the end of the story?

We call ourselves Christians, but act like atheists.  Why is that?

Trust

30 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by in Church, Humanity, Organizational theory, Politics, Society, Theology

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Since coming back to the US after being away for almost a year, I’ve had the opportunity to observe American culture, society and the church with new eyes.  Some of it is good and some of it is disturbing to me.

There has been a great deal of change in the culture over the last year – I don’t think anyone would deny that.  People will debate if all the changes are good or bad and decide based on their own beliefs and experiences among other things.  I’m not going to write about any of these changes today.  Instead I want to write about something else – something much deeper that flows underneath so much of American culture and society.  Today I’m going to write about trust – or rather, the lack of trust.

I have a theory that runs something like this – trust is a basic building block of any organization or grouping of people.  Without trust, things don’t work very well.  When there is trust, it yields some other things.  Things like safety, prosperity, health, predictability, freedom and calmness.  I would guess there are other things that trust creates an environment for, but I’ll stop with this list.  Of course, trust isn’t the silver bullet either, it’s just one component of a healthy society/organization.

Here’s the thing though, when I look at American society and culture and the church in America, I see a whole big lack of trust.  I don’t think I’m providing any type of news flash on this either.  We see plenty of news stories telling us of different races not trusting each other, different economic classes not trusting each other, different political parties not trusting each other.  Many people do not trust the government.  That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

I have another theory about this too.  Not trusting is a part of the fabric of America.   Each country on the planet has strengths and weaknesses.  America’s weakness happens to be a lack of trust.

When I look back at American history, I see a group of founders who experienced what they described as a tyrannical, oppressive government.  This created a sense that government, especially government with great power over its people, could not be trusted.  Hence when they wrote the constitution, they wrote into it many checks and balances that would create gridlock and hamper any governmental power.  They didn’t trust people to rule over them.

Our culture continues this tradition of mistrust and it has spread into many other areas of life.  Just over the last two days I have read stories about a Congressman being indicted, an institution doing some questionable things, fights over funding different programs, fights over budgets, presidential campaign accusations, murders, statements by public figures against multiculturalism, disasters, and professional sports controversies.  I’m exhausted just listing all of that.  No wonder there is a lack of trust.  Every one of these news items continues to spread the gospel of fear – fear people in power because they will screw the public over, fear the other party because they want to destroy the country and the planet, fear people who look different from you because they are going to change the country, fear the weather because it can kill you.  Fear and mistrust are close friends.

We claim to be a society that values freedom, yet we seem to be in bondage to fear and mistrust.

Often I observe churches who are in bondage to fear and mistrust as well.  I often wonder if American churches are susceptible to this since they reside within a culture of mistrust.

Too often we hear church leaders spouting Old Testament laws against this or that – selectively picking out the worst offenses to match up with their own established beliefs about the world and people and how we shouldn’t trust “others” who are different.

Yet, when I read the Old Testament, I see a different message when it comes to trust.  I see verses like this:

“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.” Psalm 13:5.

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you.” Psalm 56:3

“He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.” Proverbs 28:26

There are many more verses like that all throughout the Bible.  Here’s a great listing that I found.

I think one of the deeper issues regarding trust and our seeming inability to trust others is this – we have trouble trusting ourselves.  We have trouble trusting God.  It’s much easier to point the finger at someone else and label them as different or dangerous and hence worthy of mistrust.  It’s much harder to be willing to look inward at the mistrust we have of ourselves and of our creator.  It’s painful.  It’s so much easier to scapegoat someone else for the sins we hear or see in them out there than to recognize the same painful sins within ourselves.  It’s so much easier to doubt God when it seems like God doesn’t keep God’s word, based on our own timing and unreasonable expectations.

Yet, God is faithful and amazingly God trusts us.  God trusts us so much that God loves us, even with our failings.  God trusts us to send us out to share the Good News and to share the love and care and concern for others, just as God loves, cares and is concerned for us.

Trust isn’t the end-all, be-all.  But it is part of a good foundation on which to build a community, a church, a society and a nation.

Fear

21 Tuesday Apr 2015

Posted by in Humanity, Society, Theology

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Over the last few days a few things have been bugging me, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was that was really bothering me.  Then it struck me – fear.  I’m not generally someone who fears things. Sure, I have my own fears (an irrational fear of heights that I keep trying to overcome, but continue to fail at), but I either face those fears as they come, or I avoid them all together.  But I don’t dwell on them and allow them to control my days.

What struck me was seeing how prevalent fear is – especially on the internet.  In the last few days I’ve read many things that deal with fear.  Here are a few examples – here, here, and here.  They are all great articles/posts in their own right.  They all express their own frustration with fear in their own unique way.  Some of these are blatantly about fear and for others, you have to see the subtle way they deal with fear.

I have a confession – it drives me nuts to see people allow fear to control their lives.  Absolutely nuts.  I don’t get it.  Granted, there are times when fear grips me too (again, heights).  Sometimes a little bit of fear can be healthy – it might actually save your life so you don’t go and do something totally stupid.  But the key word is “little.”  Just like most things – moderation is usually not going to harm you and will usually be beneficial for you.

But lately, it seems as though fear has been waging a war on humanity with a vengeance.  It’s like fear is trying to secure a place with the big boys – the seven deadly sins – wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony.  So I’m proposing that we modify the seven deadly sins and include fear as the eighth deadly sin.

I’m tired of fear having so much control over people’s lives.  I’m from the US.  For a country that was pretty much founded on the idea of taking a risk, you’d think that fear would have a little less control over people.  Yet it does.  You know the stories – fear around race, fear around finances, fear of government, fear of being robbed, fear of being sued, fear of weather, fear of flying, fear of driving, fear of eating something unhealthy, fear of not having health insurance, fear of those that hold differing beliefs, etc.  Needless to say, there is a lot of fear around.

Can we please, please, please (I’m begging here) stop giving fear this much power over our lives?!?  Maybe we should start by asking people what they actually fear.  I wonder what would happen if people voiced their actual fears?  Would fear lose some of its grip and power over people?

Maybe seeing all of the fear around right now is perfect timing.  We just had Easter and one of the remarkable things about the Easter story is that it is full of fear.  The disciples had locked themselves in a room for fear of being found.  The women were full of fear and joy.  An angel comes to tell the women that Jesus is risen and the guards at the tomb are filled with fear.

Fear is a part of what it means to be human, but it isn’t the sole definition of what it means to be human.  Right now, I’m discovering that the amazing thing about all the stories of the resurrection is that Jesus continually comes into the lives of those experiencing fear and calms them.  Jesus appeared to the 11 in the locked room.  Jesus appears to Mary to calm her fears.

This of course wasn’t the first time Jesus calmed people’s fears – he calmed the stormy sea and he calmed the concerns of people going hungry by making the bread and fish feed the crowd.  And that’s just for starters.

We will experience fear, but it does not have control over us, unless we give it permission to.  Jesus comes to us in our times of fear and calms our fears, silencing fear so we can hear his voice and hear that the fear we are experiencing is a false reality.

Viru Gates, Tallinn, Estonia

13 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by in Travel

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After we left Catherine’s Passage, we made our way to the Viru Gates.

Viru Gates, Tallinn, EstoniaSeeing these gates in the snow was quite the sight.  When you walk along the wall, that was the defensive structure for the city, you feel that you are transported back in time, yet again.

Viru Gates, Tallinn, EstoniaThese are high walls – meant to keep people out.  Human nature, it seems, is normally focused on separation and fear.  We still have fences in our modern era, but often, the walls of separation we build now to protect ourselves are less tangible, although not always.  Often we see walls of separation within churches too – but that’s for another post.

Viru Gates, Tallinn, EstoniaRegardless, these walls are an impressive sight to see.  Oh the history they could tell if they could talk.

Viru Gates, Tallinn, EstoniaSnow makes all things pretty again.

Stewardship of the Body

27 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by in Church, Health, Society, Sports

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I bet you could easily list the topics that aren’t spoken about in church.  I bet you could easily name the topics that are typically talked about in pretty negative tones too.

Today, I’m going to touch one of those “topics-that-shall-not-be-talked-about.”  Actually, it a category of topics – stewardship of the body.

Please understand, I’m not hear to tell you what to do.  That’s not my job, my role, nor do would I ever enjoy that.  Plus, the odds are that you’ve heard that speech before.  And even better odds are you went away from that speech feeling like crap, angry at the speaker, or just dismissed the person because they acted like a Pharisee – “do as I say”…

Instead, I want to ask a few questions and offer some reflection.

Why don’t churches talk about stewardship of the body?  This seems like something important.  Maybe it’s because we would have to open up about “difficult” topics like sex, food and eating, drugs, exercise, addiction, etc.  These are tough topics for Americans to talk about.  It’s so much easier to laugh about them when someone cracks a joke about any of these on a sitcom isn’t it?  It eases the tension.  But it doesn’t actually make us face our own fears.

What is stewardship of the body?  As I reflect on this, my definition of stewardship of the body is this – I’ve been given this body by God to go through life.  It is not just a part of who I am that will go away after I die, as if I can escape it.  It is me, just as my mind is me, my spirit is me, and my soul is me.  All of them together make up who I am – a unique creation.  Stewardship of the body means taking care of my body in a way that respects what God has given me.

I believe the church has a big opportunity when it comes to stewardship of the body.  Health is a big focus and rightly so.  You can read some great articles about health in the workplace – here’s one example. Pretty innovative stuff.  But there is something missing.  Just as there is something missing in all of the health-related articles out there.  Before I get to that, let me share with you one more thing.

If you think people in church aren’t interested in health, think again.  Just one example – the interest in organized running races.  It’s no secret that marathons and other distance runs have grown in popularity over the last several decades.  People care about their health and they are will to do some crazy things.  Think I’m lying?  Check out this picture:

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURESThis is the picture at the start line of the Helsinki marathon in August, 2014.  But it could have been the picture of the start line of any major city in the world.  The crowds at these things are amazing.  And the beauty of this is that these are “average” people, not super athletes, or professionals.  They have jobs like everyone else.  They are moms and dads, sons and daughters and even some grandparents.

Here’s something else to note – 99.9% of the people running these races aren’t running them to win.  They know they don’t have a prayer, nor do they really care about that.  That’s not what it’s about.  They do it to test themselves, to be healthy, as a challenge, etc.  There are probably as many reasons as there are people.

A few paragraphs ago I said that there was something missing.  What’s missing in all of this is the wholeness of the person.  So often, work-related health initiatives, marathons, exercise programs, diets, etc focus solely on the physical side of things – the body.  Science is really good at explaining so many things about the body.  But science can’t tell us about the intangibles of a person and how they relate to the body.

We have big challenges in the US – we have girls who have an unhealthy view of their body.  We have a weight problem.  We have food portions that are larger than ever.  We have people obsessed with exercise to the point that it is their religion.  We have all sorts of challenges when it comes to the body.  And we have a church that oftentimes seems to think about health as if this many people are interested:

Start line The people are interested.  But also scared and uncertain.  We, as a church, have an opportunity to walk alongside people on their journey of life.  We have an opportunity to broach the subjects that everyone is afraid to talk about. When we do, I bet we’ll be amazed at the sigh of relief that people will have.  Not because we have all the answers, but because we are willing to face the fears that people have with them.  We’re willing to show our own humanity too.

Ultimately, the biggest fear we all have and one that relates specifically to the body, is death.  If we stop kidding ourselves, this is the reason why we do all the health-related activity – to delay death.  We fear that death is final and that there is nothing after it.  This is where the church has a unique opportunity because we claim to believe that Jesus overcame death.  We claim that death can be beaten because of what Jesus did.

When we start with that in mind, it makes the conversation about the body a bit different.  We don’t have to do all sorts of crazy things in order to save ourselves and beat death – Jesus already did that for us.  We can look at who we are, what our capabilities are, what we are called to and then look at how we are called to stewardship of the body.