Living Beyond Our Fears

Ann Landers, the newspaper columnist who received over 10,000 pieces of mail a month was asked, “What do people write about the most?”  Her answer was fear. “The thing people ask about the most is fear.” They are afraid of the past and afraid of the future.  They’re afraid of losing their health, wealth and relationships. Bruce Larson in his book “Living Beyond our Fears”  remarks, fear is universal and all of us experience it, from the tribesman in the remote jungle to the sophisticated urbanite—people who are afraid of God and each other. It has been described as our oldest and deadliest enemy.  Thousands of years ago, the philosopher Seneca said, “If we let things terrify us; life will not be worth living.” In 1840 Thomas Carlyle wrote, “The first duty of man is still that of subduing fear.”   The humorist, Mark Twain said, “The human race is a race of cowards, and I am not only marching in that procession, but I am carrying a banner.”   Indeed all of humanity at some point has been gripped by this captivating emotion.  As a result the word fear, fearful or its root usage is mentioned 529 times in the bible.  In those occasions when mentioned we find that it disrupts families, stifles creativity, and prevents love.  Larson continues by adding, “Even greater is the fact that our fears are a psychological and spiritual barometer of who we are and our personalities are shaped by how we deal with them.”  This emotional culprit is powerful and often irrational. It shows itself in a healthy way, such as our fear of poisonous snakes.  On the other hand it shows up in the form of the neurotic producing the hypochondriac. There is fear based on truth, such as the fear that poor eating habits and the lack of exercise can be hazardous to your health. However there is fear based on lies, taught by misinformation, gossip, or tradition.  Our fears can be internal or external, natural or unnatural, focused or unfocused. But yet they remain a powerful emotion to be reckoned with, so much so that medical science now recognizes that between sixty and ninety per cent of our sicknesses are caused by such an emotion as fear.  Because of this it comes as no great surprise the dominate message during the birth of Christ was “Fear not.” Zacharias, Mary, Joseph, and the Shepherds all heard the same repose. God was sending a special “Gift” to help dispel fear and establish hope within the human heart.  It was not a “Gift” promising the absence of fear but one giving assurance that we can live beyond our fears. That’s why we need the Savior and we celebrate the season!