FEAR—to be or not to be?
A benefit of getting old (there are a few) is having been around for a while on this planet. Depending on how many laps you have made around the sun, you may have noted that life is not linear but way more circular and convoluted. We end up passing the same spot many times giving the opportunity for us to catch on to something, some ‘lesson’ if you will. There are some who miss the road signs all together. (Similar to the Israelites roaming the desert for forty years. It’s crossed my mind that with a good compass or GPS, the trip would have been way shorter with way less complaining. It became clear that the ultimate destination was not all those forty years was about. They ‘went around the block’ several times).
As AARP members we received the monthly bulletin coaching us how to stay safe this summer—concerning extreme weather, COVID, ticks, stupid drivers, food poisoning, rip-offs and sky rocketing utility bills—to list a few. Safety is one of the ploys to easily hook us, especially seniors. Most of us have security systems now. A few live in gated communities if it can be afforded. Safety (or fear) has driven thousands to buy a gun, or another one in the hopes of remaining secure.
Then the commercials we are inundated with loudly proclaim how their product, pill or service will keep me safe or make me at least feel better, feel safer. During their spiel there is lively pop music playing in the background and attractive people smiling from ear to ear having all kinds of fun. (I’ve often wondered (or wanted) the pill that those actors are taking since they’re obviously having a better time than I am).
The truth is I avoid commercial almost entirely. When they are forced upon me, I have the one last bastion of control we all have—my mute button. (It does give me a small sense of power over them).
Comparison is a huge play on us as well. The old ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ (or whatever their name is on your block or building), is alive and well culturally. We are coaxed into thinking we are missing something. Others have ‘it’ or are experiencing way more than me—me being on the short end of all the sticks! Envy is a marketing ploy used consistently—to the point of covetousness. They feed my thinking that I will be unhappy until I get ‘IT’, whatever it is. I’ve learned enough times that when I do get ‘it’, it isn’t all that I thought ‘it’ would be. (Too many its)
The commercials also feed fears within me. When feeding my worries is a part of the appeal, the gamble reaches new heights. Fear of death has always been and remains the big one. It is either home security, a pill or procedure that promises to save or extend my life. Ironically, we’ve heard similar arguments at church regarding Jesus. The neon sign at the rescue mission flashes, JESUS SAVES. But multiple times around the block has helped me to understand better just what that means.
He did not save me from the rough spots or the lean, low times of life—the reverses, the diseases, the losses of friends or loved ones. Similar to the marketing ploys, we come to see that even with Jesus, if some thing sounds too good to be true, it most often is. Now before you jump ship, I deeply remain a believer, in relationship with the God that has pursed me now seven decades. This God/Creator that I know saves us all right, but not as some of the promos have led us to believe. We are saved from buying into all the false claims and promises the capitalistic marketing world tries to sell us. We can develop a discerning mind and spirit that can connect us to The Spirit to help us see through—and beyond.
On the shelf in my study
Pied Pipers abound every day whether they be the marketing claims of all the commercials you see and hear or billboards as you drive. They’re like the traveling fish oil salesmen of old. Beyond the pipers there are the name it, claim it preachers who abound selling cheap grace to the masses.
Fear has always been used to control people. We will fear, guaranteed. We’ll likely get sucked into a deal or two promising everything, yet in the end, nothing. It’s about recognition of the emotion(s) moving me—envy, fear, sadness or jealously—and then not yielding to it. We are living in a fearFULL time. Putin has brought war back to Europe. In our own country some politicians are trying to take us back to the dark ages banning books, language—even some people. Many of us who are older grew up in churches that banned movies and often television. We were not taught discerning minds that would be able to see, to view then ascertain that what was good, wholesome and life giving. There are fantastic movies and documentaries that often change the direction of our lives. The arts have always been suspect by some. The writers, poets, playwrights and artists were the first to be imprisoned or executed during the facist/nazi uprisings decades ago. If you want to know what a culture is thinking, check out the media they watch, the songs they sing, the books and articles they’re going after. I get enough of a taste when at the theater watching the coming attractions or I see the trailers on Netflix or other apps. The current strong bent on wanting a hero is woven throughout many of our movies and television shows. Looking for heroes is not new. I have my own superheroes, SpiderMan and Flash. They are average young guys who end up with a super power that they want to use to make the world better. They’re not perfect, they mess up, but they continue to try. They do fear, but they act courageously in the face of it. They are much like me/us short of a superpower, then again, maybe not so different. Believers do have a superpower.
For certain, there is a lot of media and movies on all our screens that are a waste of time and money. There is a darkness within much of it often touting evil that can titillate our own shadows. Use your superpower to choose whatsoever is good, wholesome and life-giving.
Somewhere along the way (and more than once during the circling) a poet/author/sage said to me, “until you settle the issue of death, you will never fully live”. That my friend is a solid truth— you can bank on it. Ironically, a core theme of Christianity is settling this issue. For too long much of our focus has been on sin and a resulting eternal punishment—not on abundant, fully living. We need to also hear about now, not all about later. The sin focus was so centered on fear of hell that Jesus’s talk and teachings on life here and now was lost in the smoke and flames. Fear of hell is quite the motivator for sure. Yet hearing the promise of God that we are never alone —that this is a promise here and now and for eternity—has the potential to override all my fears. It doesn’t eliminate fear—it overcomes it. Love does win—eventually.
Hang on in the mean time. Watch any great drama, read any good book, look at all the love stories throughout the ages (even Hallmark)—the overcoming theme is there. I believe all this repetitious theme in what we read and watch is motivated by God himself. He knows the stubbornness of humanity, how ignorant we can be, so time and time again we hear the same message. Even the sci-fi we watch says the same. Steven Spielberg was right, The Force is with us. The Force is for you, not against you. “IT” is within you. Repetition is a key part of all learning. Understanding sin and its nature has always been about my education, not my damnation.
So, as the angels and Jesus said, fear not. Love more. Let love override. Life won’t be perfect but it can be full, rich with meaning surrounding us with relationships of all sorts and peoples.
If the nay sayers show up, walk away. Use your mute button.
Fear motivates for a moment, a season—but Love does way more over a lifetime and eternity.
It holds.
It keeps.
It abides.