Love v. Fear

We live in a culture of fear. Advertisers advertise their products to us often times by creating a scenario where something terrible will happen if we do not use their product. Politicians often play on our worst fears of war, terrorism, financial collapse to solicit our votes. Churches and pastors sometimes literally try to scare the hell out of us. We find fear everywhere and often times we fall prey to this fear as well. We begin to make decision based on fear. We pick neighborhoods to live in based on how safe it is because we fear for our safety. We often give up on our dreams and opt for the path that leads to financial security. I could go on and on…Fear. Fear. Fear. And if we are honest with ourselves we find many of our the decision we make – the big decisions – often have fear at the center.

But Scripture says again and again, “Fear not.” “Fear not.” “Fear not.” It appears that fear is not what God wants of us. Fear should not be a motivation of what we do or do not do.

Philippians says this, “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.”(1.9-11)

That your love may abound, overflow, overwhelm one another. This love is not “like” love – its agape love – the type of love that seeks the benefit of the other. It destroys selfishness. It pours itself out for the benefit of the other.

Paul is saying here that our ability to “discern” should be based in love. So the decisions we make should not be made out of fear – but rather should be made out of the love that seeks the benefit of the other above the benefit of ourselves.

Dangerous neighborhood? Maybe our decision to engage that neighborhood should not be based in fear of what may happen to us if we go there but rather how we are called to love there. Following my dreams? Afraid of what it will cost you? Maybe we are fearing the wrong thing – maybe we should be afraid of what it will cost us if we do not follow our dreams. What it will cost us to not follow Jesus where He is leading.

Some people say that the opposite of love is indifference. That may be so – but I’d say the opposite of love is fear. Fear paralyzes. Fear builds walls between us and those that are different from us. Fear keeps us from following Jesus into those hard and risky places and engaging in those relationships that are not so easy.

But we are not called to fear. We are called to love – abounding, overwhelming agape love. From that place of love we should build our lives and make our decisions.

What if all the followers of Jesus all over our country decided to make decision of where they will live, where they will work, how they will spend their time and money and resources not based out of fear or self-interest but rather out of abounding love for others – the type of agape, self-sacrificing love that Paul is talking about here. I wonder what kind of world that would look like?

Today – what decisions are you making out of fear? Where are you afraid to follow Jesus because you are afraid of the consequences?

What does love have to say about that?

Town & Country

The birds sing in a discord of styles: some sound like they are in an opera, others in a lounge, others in a glee club; still, they sing in harmony. The sun scales the smooth bluff of a blue sky. The trees bustle about in preparation for the day.

This is my Father’s world.

I forgot…In the city, the boomrattle of car stereos, the screamed conversations, the yodeling of police sirens…I forgot.

God’s house is everywhere; each of His servants is called to a different part of it. But we must remember we were born in the garden.

Drivers

This neighborhood is a closed obstacle course
And we are the drivers
We spin the steering wheel
And take our chances

We miss the
Thug crossing the street in traffic
Cadillac with no brake lights
Young mother with a stroller walking between parked cars

We pass the
Children at the bus stop
Teenage prostitute
Drug deal in progress

A siren inquires for respect
And we pull over
The police car flashes by
On its way to somewhere else

Friendly Service

I spent the entire day as a quarterback – throwing and running.

This is a metaphor. I am not an athlete. So replace “a quarterback” with “sick”, add “up” after “throwing” and “a fever” after “running.”

By 6:30pm I decided bed was a good decision. Then I remembered: Wednesday is young adult bible study, held in our living room. COMPANY! Though intoxicated with illness, I was compelled to clean.

Let me explain this compulsion. It’s more Nurse Ratched than Florence Nightingale. More about control than service. My roommate Kevin knows and tries not to do anything dirty while I’m looking.

I cleaned only the bathroom and went to bed.

At 8:00pm I woke up and marveled at how quiet it was. Maybe they’re studying Psalm 23, I thought.

At 10:00pm I got up to use the bathroom and found Kevin in the kitchen washing dishes.

“You guys were quiet,” I said. He smiled, and even though my head was filled with cream of brain soup, I understood. “Did you have bible study downstairs?” I asked.

“Oh, uh, yeah,” he admitted, as if annoyed his smile gave him away. “I figured if you were trying to sleep we shouldn’t make all that noise.”

“Thank you,” I said, almost tearfully, as if accepting an award, and then, “I’m going to the bathroom. And then I’m going to bed.”

As I woke up the next morning I remembered a few weeks ago when I had friends in my room while Kevin was leading bible study in the living room. We were loud and didn’t leave. He never said a word.