Do Not Be Afraid

Fear is the enemy. In the Dune books by Frank Herbert the main character calls fear the mind killer. It prevents us from acting, it holds us back, it keeps us trapped in its own special chains. But the Bible tells us that God does not give us a Spirit of fear but of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7, NRSV). We need to live with that kind of spirit, rather than a spirit of fear.

Be Not Afraid?

There is a myth that the Bible says “do not be afraid” 365 or 366 times, one for every day of the year. It’s not true. To begin with, when the Bible was written there weren’t 365 days in a year. If you count them up, it says “do not be afraid” or the equivalent phrases, somewhere between 70 and 90 times depending on your Bible translation. But that’s ok, because the message is still true, even if the words aren’t said as often as we think.

Fear and Faith

Fear is the enemy of faith. Or rather, giving into fear is the enemy. Fear itself is something that we need to overcome. But on its own fear isn’t a bad thing. Fear teaches us to be careful, it helps us learn, it keeps us safe. Fear works for the body in the same way the conscience works for the mind. It helps us know what could harm us and tries to keep us away from it.

But sometimes fear is something we need to overcome. Whether that is because we need to do something scary for a good reason. Or because we are scared of the wrong thing. Fear can leave us paralysed, or it can push us into making bad decisions. Decisions that can be harmful for us and for others in the long run.

Faith means acting based on our hope. Living a life shaped around something we cannot see (Hebrews 11, NRSV) and which has not yet fully arrived (Romans 8, NRSV). This requires courage. Courage is an integral part of living faithfully in the world.

Different Kinds of Courage

There is physical courage; the willingness to do something physically scary like being in battle, confronting an aggressive person, having an argument, or doing a dangerous sport for example. There is also moral courage; making a decision that is the right thing to do, even though there will be consequences, choosing something that is difficult, confronting things that scare us like a phobia or a trauma memory.

I think that courage is important. We need to be brave to follow Jesus. We need to be brave to make the choices that will bring us happiness and joy. We need to be brave to choose to live in a way that is rooted in freedom and not in oppression.

The Spirit God Gives

But we need more than bravery and courage. That is why the Spirit that God gives us to counter our fear is not simply the gift of bravery. It is more than that.

God gives us a Spirit of power, love, and self-discipline.

Spirit of Power

Power, not in the sense of being in charge or in control, or even in the sense of being strong. But the kind of power we see in Jesus. The willingness to love others, to accept suffering, to die for others.

And the power to speak the truth, even when this brings consequences. To speak out against those who dishonour God’s name, and who hurt God’s children. And the power to do what is right, even when it breaks the law.

This kind of divine power is the opposite of what we normally think of as power. This is because our human understanding of power is based on fear. We want to be in control, to be strong, to do what we want, because these things make us feel less scared. They make us feel safe. But the reality is they are just ways that fear hides and is worked out in our life.

Instead of fear-made-power, we need love-made-power where we are free to be who God wants us to be because we are no longer controlled by that fear. Which is why the Spirit God gives to us is also the Spirit of love.

Spirit of Love

God gives us a Spirit of love, because love is the true counter to all fear. The Bible tells us that there is no fear in love, because perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18, NRSV).

The love of God that we receive is love that is not self-interested but is entirely turned towards other people. It is the kind of love that delights in other people’s delight. It does not take, it gives generously. This love is not selfish or self-interested, it does not keep a record of wrongs, it isn’t jealous or prideful or petty (1 Corinthians 13, NRSV). It is love perfected by Christ’s own perfect love so that we can love how Christ loves.

We need that Spirit because normal, human, love so often actually creates more fear. We are scared of losing what (or who) we love, because love becomes possessive and objectifying. We love the person or the thing because of how it makes us feel, and we do not want to lose it because losing what we love will hurt us. So love creates fear because love creates pain.

But love from God does not possess, does not turn others into objects, and does not take for itself. Love from God gives itself to others, desires their good, and so does not fear to lose, because it never ‘has’ to begin with. When we learn to love with an open hand then we let go of fear and instead are filled up with the joy and love of God.

The Spirit of God gives us the power to love in the way that Christ does. But we need something more to live that love in the world.

Spirit of Self-Discipline

Self-discipline is central to the life of faith and is the enemy of fear. Fear drives us to act in ways outside of our normal behaviour. We make poor decisions, or we make no decisions at all, hiding away from what would bring us joy. We need the self-control which is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23, NRSV).

The Spirit of self-discipline and self-control is not about making ourselves do something. It is about being able to know what the right to do is, and then to do it. Self-discipline is not just in our behaviour, in how we act, or how we treat our bodies, it is also about how we think and feel. The Spirit of self-discipline means we do not need to give into fear but instead we are able to take captive our fears and false desires and instead act based on love.

Our understanding of self-control is normally, again, based on control, which is based on fear. We want to act a certain way to avoid getting hurt, to avoid pain and suffering. So we control ourselves. We control our instincts, our desires, our urges, and we make ourselves act or not act. But we need to understand why we do these things. That is the difference with what the Spirit gives to us.

The Spirit of Self-Discipline is what helps us to choose love over fear.

Do Not Be Afraid

We are told not to be afraid. Because fear leads us away from God, and, it also leads us away from each other. Star Wars had it right when Yoda said that fear leads to hatred, and hatred leads to suffering.

We end up hating what we fear. Whether that is ourselves, a situation, or a person or people. It is fear that demagogues play on, and that tyranny is built on. Fear of difference, of otherness, of suffering. So fear is turned into hatred and people end up suffering.

But in Christ fear is cast out by the perfect love of Christ that loves with an open hand. We are given the power to live without fear, giving ourselves to others, taking delight in other people’s delight, and not seeing them as potential threats or competition. We are given the self-discipline to understand that we do not need to be scared of loss when our love is something freely given, not something that takes away for ourselves.

Giving into fear is the first step on a path that leads to destruction. Instead, we need to dwell in the Spirit that gives us power and love, remembering that perfect love drives out fear. Both in ourselves, and in our churches.

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