Category Archives: fear

Are monsters due in Abilene?

An episode of the classic TV show Twilight Zone was called “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.” (You can watch it on CBS All Access… which is being offered for free right now) In this episode, the power goes out in a neighborhood. Someone suggests the possibility that this is the work of aliens and that one family is in cahoots with the invaders. Later power is restored at one house, then a different one, then a different one. The gathered crowd turns into a violent mob, accusing and attacking one another.

Is that where we’re headed with the coronavirus? Will we be pointing fingers and accusing people? Will we stand in judgment on our friends and neighbors?

Or will we remember principles of justice, like innocent until proven guilty? More importantly, will we remember principles of our faith, like love and mercy, like compassion and forgiveness, like “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone…”

May Christians be remembered as the ones who helped share peace during this time, not those that added to the panic. May we be remembered those who showed compassion to the sick, rather than those who stood in judgment on them. May we be remembered as those who loved our neighbors as ourselves and loved our God above all else.

Maybe we need to hear Rod Serling’s words from the end of that Twilight Zone episode:

The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices…to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill…and suspicion can destroy…and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own – for the children and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone.

When fear leads us away from God, Pt. II

scaredThe book of 1 Samuel offers us another lesson about the effects of fear. In chapter 13, Saul has his armies gathered to fight the Philistines. They are waiting for Samuel, the priest, to come and offer a sacrifice, beseeching God’s favor. They waited and waited, but Samuel didn’t come. The Israelites grew scared and began to scatter. Saul, seeing that he was losing his army, decided to wait no longer. He offered the sacrifice, even though he knew that wasn’t his job. Samuel arrived soon after and rebuked him for what he’d done.

Why did Saul offer the sacrifice? The immediate catalyst was fear. He was losing his army and didn’t think he could win without that military power.

Now look at chapter 14. Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a different perspective on things. He was willing to attack the Philistines, going into battle with only his armor bearer by his side. How could he attack like that when his father was afraid to do it without the help of an entire army? He remembered what his father didn’t. “Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.” (1 Samuel 14:6)

That’s the thought that can drive out fear. When we depend on men, fear will be a natural part of our lives. And it will lead us to ungodly actions. But if we can remember that all that matters is whether or not the Lord is on our side, fear will no longer be a part of our lives. Saul feared because he focused on his army. That fear led him to sin against God. Jonathan was brave, not because of his own skill, but because of his trust in God. And he did great things by God’s power.

When fear leads us away from God

scared

“But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though the LORD your God was your king.” (1 Samuel 12:12)

I hadn’t noticed the role that fear played in this sinful episode, when the Israelites rejected the kingship of God and opted for a human king. The Ammonites were coming. They had come before, dominating Israel during the period of the judges (Judges 10-11). They were coming again, and the people were scared. Were they really supposed to just depend on God’s protection? It was time to act!

So they went to Samuel and demanded a king. A king to lead them in battle. It was logical. It was necessary. It was the only thing to do.

That’s what fear told them. And it was the beginning of the end for the nation of Israel. They had the chance to have God as their king, to have God fight their battles. But they chose to depend on human strength and human wisdom.

Would we have done any better? With an enemy knocking at our door, would we have dared rely on God alone? Would we have trusted God’s promises or sought the comfort of strong human leadership and military might? I’m not sure that I would have done any better than they.