It is indisputable that the United States of America is in a deep and protracted state of unrest. In this world adrift in a sea of radical changes, most nations are. In many nations, we see governmental leaders reaching hard, tightening the reins, and securing or overturning balances of power. The world is awash in fear as the rattling of swords provides the percussion section of this age’s demonic symphony of change. Whether we have come to the foothills of The Apocalypse is debatable, but these are surely apocalyptic times.
While nations around us are redrawing the map of the world with guns, drones, tanks, and missiles, our leadership takes aim with words and labels. “Opposing voices” become “Extremists,” and “disagreement” becomes “threat.” Somewhere, George Orwell’s ears just perked up. How close are we to a Taliban styled cleansing? Time will tell.
Fear is the servant of oppression. Fearful people are more easily exploited by authority figures. Instead of a healthy sharing of the load of government, we are looking to (or looking for) the giant who will save us from the great evil we perceive hovering over us. We lie frozen in our beds like children in the dark. There is a monster in the closet or perhaps under this very bed, and we need a parental figure to walk in, switch on the light, and banish the monster. This is fertile soil for a power-hungry rising star, but it could be the death-knell of self-government.
I take no political stand. I am speaking in support of no candidate, and I am advocating no party or platform. I am simply seeing what is and trying to understand what could come of it. When we stoop to threats to get our way, we introduce into the mix an element that is divisive and acidic. It will erode our very foundation if it is left unanswered. Fear is a darkly powerful force. When we stand in divided camps and throw fear at each other like Neanderthals casting stones we doom ourselves.
Fear is also powerful in the Church. For generations, the power of fear has been used and abused by clergy and laity alike. But unlike its secular counterpart, the Church can and must handle fear. While fear does challenge faith, which is disturbing, it serves its intended purpose in dissolving that heinous type of pride that is damning in its pure form. (Here we are not talking about that self-esteem that says “I am as good as the next person”, but that toxic element that screams “I am so much better than everyone else!”)
When fear has served to bring us all to level ground, Love neutralizes its corrosive power and sets us free from its tyranny. God is love, and perfect love banishes fear. Sin is real, so that redemption has meaning. But we are not bound by that redemptive power. Rather, we are freed by it. We rise to walk upright and unafraid.
Churches that major on guilt-and-judgment and minor on grace-and-mercy cement their followers to the altar of repentance and hold them captive to a God of retribution. Churches that glorify grace to the exclusion of judgment render themselves unnecessary. (Who needs to be forgiven if there is no such thing as sin?) But those Houses that are built on a balanced view of redemption make disciples who are bold and courageous. The fear that once owned them was made to serve them, and now they are free to reach out to others with the grace and mercy that overcame their fear through the power of Love. I would rather walk free in their company than fall with the victims of cringing fear clashing with runaway pride.
I will disturb many hearts when I bring news of your downfall to distant nations you have never seen. Yes, I will shock many lands, and their kings will be terrified at your fate. They will shudder in fear for their lives as I brandish my sword before them on the day of your fall.
Ezekiel 32:9-10
Walking Beside the Boat by R.G.Henley 