The Rev. Glenn Wagner helps us understand fear in order to be better at coping with it. He says, ” … trusting God in all things can be a great help.”
GLENN M. WAGNER
Michigan Conference Communication
I know fear. Don’t you?
Fear has been lurking in my neighborhood. Fear makes me queasy. Fear does not seem to know that it is not wanted. Fear does not give any indication of leaving anytime soon.
Fear should not be overlooked. Here is my effort to understand fear so I can be better at coping with it. 1) I will name some of the places that I have recognized and personally experienced fear; 2) lift up what great minds have to teach on the subject; 3) learn from our spiritual ancestors about fear. I invite you to join this exploration. Fear can be lessened in light of public exposure.
Naming fear
Fear comes in many forms.
We can recognize fear’s tone in the political ads on television, warning that our American democracy will be over and will be replaced by a violent mob if we vote in error. Professionals working on both sides of the political aisle know that injecting fear into campaign rhetoric is proven to generate more donations and whip up voter enthusiasm. Fear grabs headlines. Negative campaign ads do more to shape voter attitudes in 30 seconds than promoting positive campaign proposals. News organizations dependent on capturing viewers, for advertisers know that fear is much more effective in raising ratings than a story on responsible government.
Following the recent death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, news broadcasts offered grief at her passing and praise for her accomplishments. But in less than an hour, fear was being stoked by pundits over a looming succession battle and the consequences of that succession for the future of the Supreme Court’s position on national issues of importance like health care, election integrity, women’s reproductive rights, and the rights of the unborn. Fear clouds the unknown of our future with worry.
“Fear clouds the unknown of our future with worry.”
As a side note from me to campaign strategists and pundits, “I am turned off by your scare tactics. I desire leadership and information committed to responsible bi-partisan solutions to the many real issues that confront us. I prefer unifying leadership to frenzied fear-mongering.”
Sometimes fear demands that we call it out and confront it with courage.
Fear has affixed itself to the global pandemic. The coronavirus has altered relationships and lifestyles. CNBC reported at the end of August that 163,735 businesses have closed because of the pandemic. Millions of Americans are still unemployed as a direct result of this disease. Social distancing, quarantining, and masking have replaced physical contact and trusting relationships. Passing too close to anyone beyond our immediate circle evokes questions like, “Is this person safe? Are they asymptomatic carriers of the virus?” Social gatherings of all kinds carry the risk of becoming super-spreader events. With over 6.5 million cases as of mid-September in the United States and surpassing 200,000 fatalities, fears of the virus are grounded in grim truth. It is wise to treat these fears by learning from the prudent advice of infectious disease medical specialists. Masking in enclosed public spaces, avoiding large crowds, social distancing, and handwashing can help us curb fear and lessen the coronavirus’s devastating impact. There is ample evidence that ignoring health experts’ warnings as an expression of bravado has dangerous consequences.
Fear has also reared its ugliness in recently headlined violence associated with systemic racism. Widely publicized examples of bigotry give many minorities cause to fear our existing policing and criminal justice systems.
Pastoral experience has introduced me to those who live in fear because they lack adequate medical care. It is estimated that 27.5 million Americans still don’t have medical insurance. I have also met some of the 60% of Americans who live in fear because they lack savings to cover a $1,000 emergency or sudden unemployment.
Recent history gives many cause to fear acts of gun violence in America. In 2019, 15,292 people were killed by guns in the United States. Over 30,000 Americans have been killed so far in 2020 by firearms. National polling indicates that 66% of Americans are in favor of stricter gun control laws. At the same time, fears over the pandemic and public unrest have fueled record gun sales in recent months.
Have you recognized the fear in pronouncements about global warming being substantiated by violent storms, rising tides, exploding populations, and raging fires? I have seen waterfront properties near us eroded by rising lake levels and witnessed disappearing glaciers in our national parks. I believe experts who link dangerous environmental consequences to unsustainable population growth. The world has gone from 1 billion people in 1900 to 6 billion in 2000 to 7.8 billion in 2020, with projections to reach 9.22 billion in 2075. I feel fear not only from the upsetting impact of global warming on our environment but also from the consequence of adding more people and more non-recyclable toxins and plastic waste to a stressed environment without adequate plans to address the worrisome trajectory.
Do you also fear the long term consequence of a ballooning national debt? As of September 15, 2020, that debt stood at $81,130 for every person living in America and totals more than 26.8 trillion dollars! This is a rise from an already dangerous 13.8 trillion dollars just four years ago. Our national debt looms as a massive roadblock to funding social change.
I fear a perceived decay in moral values. Gambling is now a 240 billion dollar industry. Receipts from American pornography purchases are estimated to be 12 billion dollars a year. When I was ordained as a United Methodist pastor in 1976, the clergy and the police were among the most respected professions in America. As a result of scandals and changing values, neither of those vocations, which are important to maintaining the fabric of American life, even made a list in a recent US News article of the 100 best jobs in America.
“Sometimes fear demands that we call it out and confront it with courage.”
Do you fear the consequences of the growing gap between the rich and the poor? In the first quarter of 2020, the top 1% of Americans owned 31% of the net worth, while the bottom 50% of Americans held just 1.4% of our national net worth. According to New York Times, business reporter Nelson Schwartz in his new book, “The Velvet Rope Economy, How Inequality Became Big Business,” the growing income gap between America’s haves and have nots is also eroding a public willingness to share investment in the common good. Schwartz offers examples in his book of voters who have begun to vote “No” on referendums for improved schools or needed infrastructure because the poor cannot afford a millage increase. The rich find it less expensive to tend to their own needs than to pay disproportionately higher taxes.
People live in daily fear because they are entangled in abusive relationships. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, “on average, 24 people per minute are victims of domestic violence in our country.”
I know others who fear because they or their loved ones are among the 21 million Americans caught in the grip of addictions.
Others are part of the 40% of our population, nearly 133 million, who live with the present fears connected with their chronic illness.
The estimated 10.5 million immigrants in the United States illegally live in fear of deportation.
I am aware of personal fear connected with the sting of receiving public criticism for leadership decisions. I have found relief from those emotional fears when respected peers let me know that they have had similar experiences. My friends have also helped me with straight talk – “Criticism and mistakes are a part of life. Learn from them. Join the club. You are still OK. God still loves you.”
Great minds address fear
There is no “one size fits all solution” for dealing with every fear, but I have found guidance for dealing with many fears from others’ great minds.
In his examination of fear neuropsychologist, Dr. Theo Tsaosides reminds us that fear is a part of our human condition. He also points out that fear can be healthy. “Fear is hardwired in your brain, and for good reason: Neuroscientists have identified distinct networks that run from the depths of the limbic system all the way to the prefrontal cortex and back. When these networks are electrically or chemically stimulated, they produce fear, even in the absence of a fearful stimulus. Feeling fear is neither abnormal nor a sign of weakness: The capacity to be afraid is part of normal brain function.”
According to this expert, fear is part instinct, part learned, and part taught.
Fear can serve as a personal radar to help us move away from danger. I have heard powerful testimony from Jewish survivors of the holocaust who were saved from certain annihilation at the Nazis’ hands because their justifiable fears of Adolph Hitler prompted them to uproot their lives and flee from Germany before they could be sent to the death camps.
Many other well-known thinkers have shared insights that can further help us to cope with our fears.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the peak of the Great Depression in the United States in his first inaugural presidential address on March 4, 1933, spoke to genuine national fears over a failed economy with words that inspired a nation: “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life, a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves, which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.”
Roosevelt’s bold naming of our national fear and confident leadership helped inspire Americans to work together to overcome our panic. Competent and calming leadership can do much to allay the fears of a group.
“There is no ‘one size fits all solution’ for dealing with every fear.”
Here are some additional helpful thoughts from a website devoted to compiling experts’ advice to help us all overcome our fears.
“Fears are educated into us, and can if we wish, be educated out.” ~ Karl Augustus Menninger
“Ignorance is the parent of fear.” ~ Herman Melville
“Laughter is poison to fear.” ~ George R.R. Martin
“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” ~ Rosa Parks
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” ~ Nelson Mandela
It can help us better cope with fear if we know we are not alone and have a plan to deal with it. Learning from the experience of others offers comfort and direction.
Wisdom from spiritual ancestors
We can also learn from the wisdom of our spiritual ancestors who were familiar with fear. Fear is mentioned 615 times in the Bible.
Notable examples include the confession of fear by Jacob in Genesis 32 when he learned that his jealous brother Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men. Jacob spent a night wrestling with God because of his fear and was permanently crippled in the process. His hip was put out of joint, and he walked away from that incident with a limp. His name was changed from Jacob to “Israel,” which means “one who has wrestled with God.” Life does have moments of great spiritual wrestling. Wrestling with fearful circumstances can bring dramatic changes in each of our lives too.
Living 1,000 years before Jesus, David had reason to fear on one of the worst days of his life. Israel’s King Saul, who was jealous of David’s popularity, wanted David dead. So David sought refuge in Abimelech’s courts, a neighboring ruler, only to learn that Abimelech also wanted David dead. David fled again to the wilderness, where he composed Psalm 34, a heart song filled with positive advice for the fearful. (See also 1 Samuel 19-21).
I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. ~ Psalm 34:4
David dealt with his earthly fears by respecting God’s ultimate authority over his life.
The Apostle John suggested another approach to dealing with our fears, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.” (1 John 4:18)
John believed an antidote to fear is to change our focus from fear for our own safety to outward acts of self-sacrificing love for others.
Jesus offers additional ways for us to address our fears. Before sending his disciples forth in mission, Jesus instructed them to prioritize fear so that we respect God more than bullies, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:26)
While it is true that Jesus injects fear of eternal punishment for those who lose sight of human decency in stories like the parable of the last judgment in Matthew 25:31-46 and the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31, Jesus’ ministry is characterized by calming fears with humility and compassion. He welcomes children (Matthew 19:14), forgives known sinners (John 8:1-11), and heals lepers (Matthew 8:1-4).
Lest we be afraid of the dark, the Gospel of John reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world and that light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5).
John Wesley faces fear
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, also offers important help for facing fears learned from his own experience.
John Wesley set out for America in 1735, enthused at the idea of preaching the Gospel to Native Americans. During the trans-Atlantic voyage, the ship was caught in a terrifying winter storm. John was afraid. During the storm, he witnessed a worship service held by a group of German Moravians, when a huge wave engulfed the ship and water poured down into the cabins. While the English passengers screamed in terror, the Moravians continued their singing, seemingly untroubled by the present mortal danger. When Wesley asked one of the Moravians if they hadn’t been afraid, the German replied that not even the women and children had been afraid. None of them were afraid to die.
John knew they had something he didn’t, an absolute trust in God. They were prepared to lose their lives because they knew that God would never let them go. Wesley chronicled the event in his Journal on January 25, 1736, noting, “This was the most glorious day that I have yet seen.”
Wesley later spent time visiting with the Moravians in the Netherlands and Germany. Their intentional faith in all things was readily apparent in their community life and proved an important influence on Wesley’s founding of the Methodist movement.
Wesley remembered the role of faith in helping him deal with his own fears in the Atlantic storm in his translation of an older German hymn by Paul Gerhardt entitled, “Give to the Winds Thy Fears.” These lyrics serve to remind us that trusting God in all things can be a great help in coping with our fears.
Give to the winds thy fears,
Hope and be undismayed,
God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears.
God shall lift up thy head.
Last Updated on October 31, 2023