State of Fear

With another presidential election upon us . . . negatively skewed economic reporting is climaxing, and in concurrence with this, economic conditions are worsening. Just Facts

Has it ever occurred to you how astonishing the culture of western society really is? Industrialized nations provide their citizens with unprecedented safety, health, and comfort. Yet modern people live in abject fear. They are afraid of strangers, of disease, of crime, or the environment. They are afraid of the homes they live in, the food they eat, the technology that surrounds them. They are in a particular panic over things they can't even see--germs, chemicals, additives, pollutants. They are timid, nervous, fretful and depressed. And even more amazingly, they are convinced that the environment of the entire planet is being destroyed around them. Remarkable! Like the belief in witchcraft, it's an extraordinary delusion--a global fantasy worthy of the Middle Ages. Everything is going to hell and we must all live in fear. Amazing. Michael Crichton, State of Fear

You all know that I'm a TV/Media free person. I purposely shield myself from pop culture, including and especially the media hype and pot stirring of this election.

Even in my sheltered world I've noticed an increase in doomsday talk and more than the normal amount of emails forewarning financial apocalypse and the like. I see it in the headlines of the newspapers that line the walks as I walk the dogs in the morning. I open my mailbox and am served a fresh dose of fear without my even asking through expensive, full-color, tri-fold mailers from this political party or that candidate or another organization.

I do not question that families are hurting from loss of jobs, the struggling housing market, higher gas prices, and larger grocery bills. I am certain we have enemies that would delight in our complete financial collapse. I will be the first to admit that there is corruption that needs to be righted.

But, I refuse to live in the "state of fear" that nearly every institution uses to manipulate the culture, to secure power, and wring every last penny from our wallets. We're bombarded with it from our TVs, our computers, our radios, and it's delivered to our door steps and mailboxes every day.

I for one am under the authority and protection of Jesus Christ. Nothing will happen to me unless the Father allows it and whatever that may be will be for His glory and His alone. As an adopted child of the Father, a father that I can call Abba, I have no use for fear and work daily to drive it from my life.

Listen for it, watch for it, question it, teach your children to discern it: fear sells.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7