America the fearful

From the Pulpit
By Rev. Gary Hardin

Mrs. Waite, my 3rd grade teacher, devised the perfect plan for helping me conquer the fear of speaking in front of the class. I had stood before my classmates to read the daily devotion, and then to lead the class in the Pledge of Allegiance. My knees knocked. My hands sweated. I think I had read only a couple of sentences when I fainted. To help me overcome this fear, Mrs. Waite made me do the devotion and pledge thing for 10 straight days. Her plan worked.

Today, several times a week, I stand before people and speak. I think often of the contribution my 3rd grade teacher made in my life, and her concern to help me confront a common fear.

Fear is what we feel when we face some type of threat. Thus, fear involves torment. Fear robs us of peace and joy. The interesting thing about fear is that it's not logical. If it was logical, we could talk our way out of it. Most of what we fear never becomes reality, and those fears that do seldom are as bad as we imagined them. Fear, though, comes to all of us.

Have you noticed how fear seems to have swept over our country? Terrorists implant fear through intimidation. Politicians and special-interest groups use fear to push their agendas. Stock market gyrations cause us to fear we won't have a retirement nest egg. People fear the consequences of not having health insurance.

When you fill your car with $3-per-gallon gasoline and pay more at the supermarket this week than you did a month ago, you fear you won't have the money to fund the comfortable life to which many people have grown accustomed.

In today's news people fear the increasing number of illegal immigrants, global warming, terrorism, unwholesome food, and identity theft. The litigious nature of America has many people frightened. Chances are, if you are not being sued, you know someone who is.

Because Americans feel more afraid, the security business has grown leaps and bounds. The sale of antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers has exploded. Barry Glassner, a sociology professor, wrote a book, “The Culture of Fear”, in which he examined the pathology that has swept America. He wrote that Americans are burdened by fears. In a country once united by the concept of freedom, today it seems fear binds us together. Truly, an abundance of fears have most people on edge.

Some fear is healthy because it causes us to embrace precautions we might not otherwise take. Because I fear poisonous snakes I don't play with them. Unhealthy fear is a different matter. We can be fearful of what others think of us, and decide to avoid contact with them. We can be fearful of our abilities, and fail to achieve our dreams. When the anxious nature of fear dominates people's lives, as it does today, an old German proverb sums the result: “Fear makes the wolf bigger than he really is.”

What, then, can we do to deal effectively with our fears? We need to begin by asking, “What has me feeling afraid?” Asking this question helps us admit our fear and identify the source of our anxiety. Merely asking this question takes away some of the power of unhealthy, neurotic, fear.

Talking through our fears always helps. Find a trusted friend and open up about what has you afraid. Discussing our fears helps us confront them.

Counselors teach that we should face our fears. Rather than running from our fears we confront what we fear. For example, if you fear meeting new people you decide to meet one new person each week. The step of facing your fears allows you to change your thinking and to function differently, which, in turn, builds your confidence.

Certainly we should replace our fears with faith. Frequently in Holy Scripture, we read the words, “Fear not.” Faith allows us to entrust our lives to God, and to stop giving the control of our lives to unhealthy fear.

I can name many things that make me feel afraid. But, ultimately, none of them matter. What does matter is that nothing in life or death, including fear, can separate me from the love and care of my Heavenly Father.

Gary Hardin is pastor of Enon Grove Baptist Church in Cedar Bluff. He and his wife, Linda, live in Centre. Comments can be sent to: garyhardin@tds.net.