Since we are on the subject of fear, I wonder if we could get a conversation going about our fears?
I am thinking specifically about our religious fears. Thoughts may not immediately come to mind, so let me offer something of an example. The issue of instrumental music generally creates a stir among us non-instrumental folks. What role might fear play in this issue? For a body of people who have invested a tremendous amount of energy, experienced much pain and loss through the years of conflict, the fear is that a hard-fought position be shown to be either misguided or insignificant. We might fear that all the struggle was in vain. In fact, the current thought leaders among CofC's are basically positing that historically we have made a mountain out of a mole hill, thus rendering the issue insignificant.
On a deeper level, we fear God's displeasure. Change stimulates a fear reaction because it carries the possibility of doing wrong. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," is the motto of those who think that change is more likely to make things worse than better.
What do you think?
[Note: Mike Cope has written an article in The Lookout, a publication of Christian Churches. It addressed unity among our two strands of the Stone-Campbell Movement: A Call for Unity]
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
What scares you?
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8 comments:
I'll go first. A big fear of mine is living a life that is insignificant.
I'm afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing and thereby causing someone to lose faith in God or not even bother to become a Christian at all because of my words or actions.
I'm afraid of not going to Heaven because of periodic doubts I experience from Satan. Satan will occasionally ask me how I know that Christianity is the right "religion" and not something else.
I am terribly afraid of anyone going to Hell! Sometimes I get caught up in thinking about the fact that there are people already there for eternity and I just about drive myself crazy with the pain and anguish over the fact that there's nothing I can do to get those people out of there! I hate it!! Ok...I need to stop thinking about this stuff now because I'm getting upset.
Great post though, Jason.
Jennifer
I don't know how to express this clearly, but...
My fears are alleviated by the experience of God's power at work in me. The realization that God is with ME brings me great comfort and peace of mind. Though I am aware of my own weaknesses and my limited ability to understand and figure things out, I rest in the confidence that God will see me through.
This is a large factor in my emphasis on prayer. I cannot imagine how one without an active prayer life can fully appreciate just how near God is to us all. The simplest responses to my prayers bring me tremendous confidence and joy. If God is truly with me, then all will be OK. I am free to give this life my best effort. I am not terrified of making mistakes.
I caught a line on K-LOVE this am, "When I call on Jesus, all things are possible." That's a great statement, but I fear that we do not really believe it. We acknowledge it as a true statement, but we don't really believe it - to a degree that makes a tangible difference in our lives.
If you boil all this down, it reveals the greater challenge of being a church. We need to increase the quality of our belief, so that a tangible difference is experienced in our lives. I am convinced that the barrier to us becoming greater instruments of God's work is not false doctrine but rather insufficient belief.
Does that makes sense to you? How do you agree or see it differently?
I too fear a life without purpose. I fear being misguided. The verse, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end..." has always bothered me tremendously. I fear relying too heavily upon grace and I fear trusting in works... I think there is incredible balance required. And I fear that God knows (and He does) my inmost doubts and struggles.
Sounds like one and the same as your postings.
I fear that in spending so much effort pointing fingers at each other, the different denominations have overlooked our real purpose. I think we (and others) would be better off worrying about those that don't worship rather than focusing on how those that do worship practice their faith. Maybe the real fear is in evangelizing to non believers and making yourself vulnerable. It's much safer to pick an argument with a believer of a different denomination.
I personally have never feared that I was living an insignificant life. As long as I let God lead me and I strive to be like Jesus in the way He lived life, how can insignificance happen? I figure if I spent more time on myself than on other people, I would definately be wasting my time and living insignificantly. I stay way too involved in other people's lives to ever believe that what I am doing is a waste of time and means nothing to anyone including the Lord.
Jason, I personally believe that you have nothing to fear in the area of living and insignificant life. You are too involved in the lives of other people and genuinely want to help them. Now, you can act pretty silly alot of the time with people, but that's just part of who you are. Even acting silly like you do is very much needed in the lives of others. There is not enough laughter in the world because everyone is way too uptight. Sometimes we all need something to wake us up to the reality that life actually can be enjoyed.
I have always seen you as someone who is very important to the church as a whole and you are definately living a significant life.
I believe our lives are touching people around us everyday. Whether it be through this blog (or other internet use) or out living face to face with people. We can either affect them positively or negatively but either way, we are affecting people around us constantly. The issue is: Are we living effectively for Jesus' cause? Do we truly love people? How far are we willing to go when it comes to helping others?
With the fears I listed earlier, I would say that talking to God constantly would help me to deal with those issues. If I am truly scared of people going to Hell, it should change my behavior and conversation topics when I am with a lost person. Faith in God's ability to change my words and actions in order to work for Him would help in my fear of doing and saying the wrong thing. I often ask God to make mine and Tim's words and actions be His own instead of ours.
"Make our words Your words. Move our bodies where you want them to go and keep us from going where you don't want us to go." That's what I say during mine and Tim's prayers together.
Faith and constant communication with God is essential to overcoming our fears.
When I find Satan causing doubts in my mind, I simply ask God to show me the truth. He always does and so I am still a Christian. Thank you, God!!
Jen
I have a fear of looking stupid and because of my stupidity I will fail in God's eyes. It has always been my feeling, sitting in the pews, that the person talking knows a lot more about the bible and God than I do, and because of this fact that person was obviously a better Christian and clearly going to heaven faster than me.
Now this thinking stems from childhood experiences, but yet still lingers. I still feel like I am going to do or say something that is not biblical enough and that will make me a lesser Christian in the eyes of others. Now I know it is not the eyes of others that I should be worried about, but still a fear of mine. I suppose it is just a confidence thing, but if I second guess myself then I set myself up to fail.
Josh, Welcome to this blog! I have to appreciate your blog, the title alone sent me running off to Dictionary.com, but, at least now, I know what a ptarmigan is.
To all who are interested,
I will continue this discussion with a new post.
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