Fear's Many Faces
Concern
Anxiety
Agitation
Uneasiness
Apprehension
Worry
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Mat 6:25-34 NIV
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
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Jesus or St.Paul never meant the first two passages to be directed to disaster victims, like the recent ones in Haiti and Chile. The humanitarian efforts take precedence over the spiritual needs. No, these texts are mainly meant for those who have their bodily needs taken care of.
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On the subject of fear, I've wondered for a long time why people feel the compulsion to want to be scared by watching horror films. In 1922 it was Nosferatu; in 1931, Dracula and Frankenstein; in 1980 it was Friday the 13th. A work colleague told me in 1973 not to go see The Exorcist because the Pope had banned it. I told her I'd already seen it and besides, I didn't share the Pope's views. My respect for the Pope has since then increased in proportion to my disrespect for horror films. Back then, I knew very little about demonology or the spirit world and I thought The Exorcist was just a lot of Hollywood schlock. How the years can change a person.
But the point I'm trying to make is... In this day of real earthquakes, multiple shootings, and terrorist bombings, etc. why would people need to make up make-believe disasters? Some would say we need to be in control of the panic button, something which reality doesn't permit us to have.
Truth Seeker
