Afraid But Not Fearful

Being afraind and being fearful are different only by degree.  But that degree makes all the difference.  Everyone is afraid of something.  Spiders, snakes, bears, sharks, germs, heights, attention, public speaking, death, financial failure, aging...have I spoke to yours yet?

Being afraid is part of the human condition.  Fear is like a nose in that everybody has one and one who didn't would really stand out in a crowd.  Try as we might, dismissing fear is impossible.  Even the most courageous among us experience fear.  In fact, courage is not the absence of fear, it is forward motion in the face of fear.

I think perhaps the best quote I've heard correlating fear and courage is one by Ambrose Redmoon, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear."  For instance,  Diwalinen Vankar of India was and is afraid of crocodiles.  But when her 19 y/o daughter was grabbed by one on the bank of the Vishwamitri River, she struggled with it to pull her free.  When she was unable, she attacked the crocodile with her washing paddle until the crocodile released Kanta who survived, suffering only minor injuries.

Having fear is instinctual, it serves to help prevent the extinction of a species.  It keeps us from walking into a lion's den to pet the big kitty.  It causes us to give a growling dog a wide berth.  It causes heightened senses when we have to walk in the dark.  It puts us on alert but does not paralyze us the way being fearful does.

Being fearful keeps us from taking a walk in the woods.  It stops us from seeking a promotion.  It prevents us from going back to school.  It stands in the way of serving our Lord.  Being fearful, holds us down, pushes us back, stops us from doing what we would otherwise love to do or feel we ought to do.

Peter said that as a women you are daughters of Sarah "if you do right and do not give way to fear" (1 Pet 3:6).  He didn't say you are to be fearless but rather you are not to be ruled by fear (I can't imagine he would require less of sons of Abraham).  Knowing that Jesus is with me doesn't mean that I will register no fear, instead it allows me to walk confidently into the "valley of shadows" (Ps 23) even though it is a dark and scary place.

We don't need to deny that we experience fear in order to be faithful disciples of Christ.  Rather, we need to deny our experience of fear the power to keep us from faithfully following Christ.  Jus' Say'n.