CURRENTLY IN CULTURE

James Toews
No Fear

"No Fear" declared the T-shirt draped over the slouched shoulders of the young man. You've seen these T-shirts and the bumper stickers that go with them. What a great marketing strategy--capturing our hidden dreams of life on the edge! What freedom we would have if only our fears did not keep us from taking those leaps of faith! The mountains we could climb, the challenges we could conquer--if only we could beat that immobilizing demon of fear.

We have all felt fear's numbing power. We all know what it is like to step into an exam and have fear freeze our minds into a useless gray blob. We all know what it is like to have our heart leap into our throat at the sight of a policeman parked by the side of the road. We all remember what it was like to hear our name called over the PA system and wonder if there was some forgotten sin of omission or commission for which we would now be required to pay the price.

Or do we know those feelings? For several decades now, society has waged war on fear. It seemed so obvious--free people from fear and they will flourish. What could be more reasonable?

Some years ago, Dr. Paul Brand wrote a book called Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. He had worked for years treating the victims of leprosy in India. It was a mysterious disease which apparently caused the extremities of the victims' bodies to decay and fall off. Dr. Brand made a remarkable discovery. Leprosy itself actually caused no damage to the tissue of the victims. Its damage was far more subtle. It destroyed the nerve endings which sent messages of pain to the mind. The victims of leprosy could not feel pain.

Since the beginning of time, humankind has battled pain, but with its loss came a terrible side effect. The stinging effect of an infected wound could not be felt. A bruised foot would receive no protection. The extremities of the lepers were not being rotted away by the disease; they were being worn away by misuse and neglect--neglect that arose because the warning systems had been disarmed.

I was sitting in the hallways of a courtroom waiting to be called as a witness when I saw that "No Fear" shirt pass by. Before me was a parade of juveniles. They were, for the most part, unremarkable except for one thing--something was missing. Once I noticed it, it was conspicuous by its absence. It was captured by the T-shirt--"No Fear".

The uniform of the police officer and the robes of the judge held no terror for these children. I am sure that the unexpected voice of a teacher did not inspire awe either.

But were they freed by their lack of fear? Were they better off than I had been? Their eyes told a far different story. They had been taught, "No Fear", but the rot in their lives went on unabated. The lack of pain only made the sight of it more tragic.

There is a fear from which we all need to be freed--the fear of giving our lives over to a loving God, the fear of running afoul of a world which calls pleasure its god, the fear of releasing our angers and resentments to the healing power of the Holy Spirit. These are real and profound fears, and we have all been caught in their icy grip. To those fears God declares, "For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, 'Abba, Father' " (Romans 8:15).

But the Bible also says, "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10) and that a proper fear of authority holds society together (Romans 13).

We have spent several generations indiscriminately battling fear in all its forms, but now we watch in terror as feelingless decay consumes our children.

James Toews is senior pastor of Neighbourhood Church in Nanaimo, B.C.

Return to the M.B. Herald Vol. 35, No. 14 Home Page