Fear

 

Fear

 

“Let me affirm my belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke those words at his first inaugural address in 1933. Brave words in the middle of the Great Depression. They echoed in the American spirit for the many difficult years to follow: World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, September 11th. Those who are ignorant of history can find themselves paralyzed by fear.

 

The truth is that the world is a dangerous place to live. Couple that with the reality that no one gets off the planet alive is fertile soil for fear to germinate into a phobia of life itself. Curious enough, with the onslaught of COVID 19 in the midst of an election year, fear appears to be gaining the upper hand in our country. Fear of what may happen undermines our ability to embrace life to the fullest.

 

Although I am not a fan of social media, I ran across a recent post from someone

who found the following on a sign in a Mennonite store. I am reminded that perspective helps:

 

2000 Y2K is going to destroy everything.

2001 Anthrax is going to kill us.

2002 West Nile virus, 2003 SARS, 2005 Bird Flu, 2006 E.coli are going to kill us. 2008 financial collapse will do us in

2009 Swine Flu will kill us.

2012 the Mayan Calendar predicts end of the world.

2013 North Korea will cause WW III.

2014 Ebola Virus will kill us.

2015 ISIS will kill us.

2016 Zika Virus will kill us.

2020 the Corona Virus will do us in.

The truth is FEAR is going to kill you. Turn off the TV and PRAY and TRUST IN GOD…and wash your hands.”

 

The Bible says of the righteous person: “He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.”