Joseph Conrad has written: “A man may destroy everything within himself—love, hate, belief, and even doubt. But as long as he clings to life, he cannot destroy fear.”
Using the analogy of human fevers, occasionally we experience “high-grade” fear which can be (or feel) life threatening. Sitting on a vinyl chair in a hospital waiting room, waiting for a doctor’s verdict about a loved one. Walking out of a supervisor’s office after learning you are out of a job. Watching TV during the Cuban missile crisis in the early 60’s and wondering if a nuclear war was imminent. Such fears spike so high we easily become immobilized; they take a heavy toll and we cannot handle them for long before seeking relief.
Far more common is “low-grade” fear—not high enough to keep us from functioning, but leaving us listless and depleted. Repressed low-grade fear often turns into anxiety or anger, which are both certainly on the rise across America. We fear terrorist attack, economic decline, senseless random violence; we fear living in a world that feels far more complex than it used to; we fear that the verities that used to define us are slipping away; we fear change; we fear people different from us.
This presidential primary season has fanned the flames of all these fears, with candidates channeling the attendant anxiety and anger into simplistic solutions: Bomb them all! Keep out all immigrants! Beware of all Muslims! Down with capitalism! Such bombast seems to attract large audiences. Is there a Messiah out there who can swoop in and erase all our fears? Apparently many think so.
But here’s the paradox. Some fear is healthy! Dr. Paul Tournier, an astute Christian author, was once asked how he helped his patients get rid of their fears. “Oh, I don’t,” he replied, “that which does not frighten does not have meaning. All the best things in life have an element of fear in them…No endeavor is fruitful without fear.” Isn’t this also our common experience? All good actors get stage fright; all excellent athletes get butterflies; all lovers fear disappointing those they love. Does not some fear keep us focused and motivated to offer our best?
Might you agree that fear is not as simplistic as many believe? Yes, low-grade fear is debilitating; candidates who manipulate voters through exaggerating such fears do us all an injustice. But Tournier is also right: no endeavor is fruitful without fear.
Here’s a simple example: candidates play on fears by whipping audiences into angry frenzies because someone else is taking their jobs. Fear also motivates a husband to work all day at an unskilled job and then go to community college every evening to gain the skills he needs to better care for his family in the future. It all comes down to asking discerning questions—when is fear healthy and even necessary for success? When does it become harmful to our well being?
The Bible speaks with different voices about fear. Repeatedly we hear Scripture say, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Repeatedly we hear God himself say, “Fear not for I am with you! Be not afraid!” Perhaps getting to know God better will help us learn how fear can be life-sustaining rather than life destroying.
Question: Have you ever felt this paradoxical nature of fear? How did you seek a balance between “too little” fear and “too much” fear? Please share your thoughts.
Enjoyed your article, Rich. Our all and always-sufficient God can and will use all things together for our eternal benefit. Simply stated, all fear comes from not trusting God to come through for us; since we still battle with our flesh here on earth, in our fear, we attempt to work things out relying on ourselves and on others to come up with the solution we deem to be the best one. When we finally rest in Him and depend on His never-ending faithfulness to us, we find His peace in the midst of whatever circumstances we happen to face. I love to be able to rest in His faithfulness–not in my own!
Hi Kathy, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Underneath all our fears the hand of God is holding us! This indeed is Jesus’ promise: “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give unto you; neither let your hearts be troubled nor be afraid.”
Without being specific, I feel that the relevant message that Christ was conveying to us was something like: You don’t need to be afraid of much if you follow Him, trust Him, have faith in Him, and live in his world. If you can do that, you don’t need to be concerned or worried much about the things that happen in the world. To really follow Him, you should give away your wealth to the poor, and quit worrying about where your next meal is coming from or how nice your clothes might look. I would think that He might instruct us not to be at all concerned about politics, since they are a worldly pursuit. I have not been able to come anywhere near this in my life, and it tells me that I have really not given myself away to follow Christ.
From a non-religious point of view, I think that a major tension exists in each of us between fear (fight or flight) and reason. Cain discusses this at some length in her book “Quiet.” Since I am an investment advisor, I can use my experience in that area as an example. Over the very long term, the S & P 500 index will produce a rate of return that is higher than just about any other investment. History and experience tells anyone who thinks about it that when the market goes down you will be okay if you just hang onto the securities that you have (assuming they are reasonably diversified) and wait for the market to go back up. That would have been true even for those who were holding securities before the Great Depression. In October of 1987, one of my clients, who had a sizeable stock portfolio, sold all of his holdings the day after the market hit bottom. It was a terrible mistake, but his fear of loss overcame reason. A few weeks ago, a son of that man, called me and wanted to sell all of his equity securities because the market has declined significantly in the past few weeks. I talked to him about the need to hang in and let the market recover. His fear was still overcoming reason, so I asked him if he would wait a month or two before making a decision. Hopefully, I can ease him past making a mistake. Hitler was skilled at playing on the fears of a very fearful population in post World War I Germany. Most politicians use the fear factor to one degree or another.
Sam, thanks for your sharing your insights on fear from your professional experience. You offer a great example of investors needing to “live” with some fear in the market volatility as opposed to seeking to eliminate their fear and ending up in a far worse situation. Perhaps a good example of Paul Tournier’s comment that “no endeavor is fruitful without fear.”