“Fear Always Works”
That line, from near the end of the movie Zootopia, comes to my mind often. When people talk about being fearful or scared of certain things, that line–and a Bible verse I’ll mention in a moment–jump to my mind and cause me to do some thinking.
Here are some examples:
Fear can work in keeping parents from parenting. They fear that, if they discipline their children (especially in ways that are hard or that the world says are harsh), their children might hate them or not “be friends” with them. Never mind that God has laid our standards for parents that includes harder punishment. We live in fear and, so, our children go with little-to-no punishment.
Fear can work in keeping elderships from practicing church discipline or in keeping false teaching from rearing its ugly head in a congregation. Fearful of the pushback and backlash, elders often just allow things to go unchecked, despite what the Lord has clearly given in the New Testament.
Fear can work in keeping Christians from evangelizing. We fear what people will say to us, or how they might react, or that we might strain–or lose–a friendship. So, we say nothing, despite Jesus promising us His presence when we do speak for Him.
Fear can work in keeping people from coming back to the Lord. Due to their sin, they let shame and fear grip them and become fearful of what others might think, instead of getting things right with the Lord.
We could go on, but these are enough to show that fear is a major problem in simply doing what is right. While fear may not always work, it certainly does cause a lot of trouble in many very important situations, doesn’t it?
But, at the beginning, I mentioned that, in addition to the quote from the movie, a Bible verse has been in my mind a great deal lately. What is that verse? “For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7).
If our spirit of fear is not from God…then who is it from?
It is from the world, which is under the influence of the devil. So, he loves it when we are fearful, especially about the most important things in our lives.
It’s time we stopped living by fear and started living by the spirit God has given to us: power, love, and self-control.
Fear doesn’t always have to win.
To Receive Every Article from A Legacy of Faith through Email for Free, Click Here
AUTHOR: Adam Faughn
