Here we go again! More fear! More fear! And even more fear!
The housing industry is bad.
The auto industry is bad.
Terrorists want to kill.
And now swine flu is coming our way.
We live in a world where each new fear hits us before we can even figure out how we are going to deal with that last fear.
What’s a believer to do about it?
I’m not sure. We have to follow the advice of health care experts, use common sense, and wash our hands. But we can’t live in fear daily. We have to live life and be faithful in our service to God and face life the best we can. It isn’t easy but what else can we do? We also can pray for those who are suffering. This morning I heard that we have had our first US death (a child) and south of our border dozens are dead already. This Swine Flu is a concern and one we need to pay attention to as we should with all dangers. Still we can’t live in complete panic each day. If we knew how many dangers exist all around us that we don’t even know about we would never leave our house.
I got to thinking about fear. I begin to ponder the unrealistic fears we live with daily. Do we create irrational fears that lead us to not doing what we need to do? Do we blow up dangers into something they aren’t?
As for the church what do we fear? And are our fears real? What if we change this and people don’t like it? What will so and so say if we do this in a different way? Some churches fear trying new ventures or changing tired traditions. Some churches worry about what some might think if we dare to experiment or move in new directions. Yet the real fear is that if we don’t take risks, try new ideas, that we might actually begin to shrink or die as a congregation! We probably should fear for those around us who do not know Christ and who are hurting and in need of the love and grace we have to offer. We should be concerned about the real pain and loss in our communities. We should fear neglecting our work as a church and the decline and devastation that would bring. If we really considered that we might be willing to not worry about the irrational and misguided fears that control us daily.
Blessings,
Derik
