Reasons to Fear

We live in crazy times. I actually mean that somewhat literally. If the refusal to acknowledge God makes people futile in their thinking (Rom 1:18-21) and our current society makes it their policy not to acknowledge God, I'd say that it makes our current society somewhat crazy. And it shows in so many ways. Take, for instance, the double standard that seems to be the standard of the day. "Always believe the woman ... unless she's speaking against 'one of our boys'." "We do not tolerate judgmentalism and we will be judgmental of anyone who practices it." "We need to be inclusive and we will exclude all those who do not practice our version of inclusivity." "We oppose intolerance and refuse to tolerate those who practice it." The problem, you see, is that aiming to satisfy the standards of your community is pointless (literally -- there is no point at which to aim) if the standard is double. "When is it this and when is it that? Does this fall in this version or that? How can I know, in these swirling standards, if I'm meeting the right one?" Crazy.

This society is so crazy that they pass a law to "respect marriage" that eliminates the definition of marriage. And the people you counted on to conserve your version (you know ... conservatives) voted to eliminate it along with those who already intended to. Crazy. Science tells us that the primary function of sex between humans is reproduction of the species and that no male-male or female-female sex will produce a baby, but our society tells us that homosexual sex is "normal" and "natural." Not according to science. Science tells us that there are only two sexes -- male and female. Our society tells us that not only are there lots of them, but that those who are born as one (they call it "assigned at birth" as if doctors are pulling sexes out of a hat to give to each baby) can believe they are another and be regarded as heroic. Crazy. Not only that, but if you have the audacity to agree with science on these things, you're the crazy one. "Science says there is only male and female." "Hater." "Science says the baby in the womb is a human being." "Sexist." You get the idea. And I've only scratched the surface with these examples. For instance, if gender is just a "social construct" (which, by the way, science denies) and "male" and "female" are fluid and almost infinitely variable, then what exactly can we determine about the "L" or the "G" or the "B" or even the "T" of that acronym. If a person is born male, transitions to female, and is attracted to females, is that "L" or "G" or "B" or something else entirely? And why, if that "female" is a social construct, does he feel the need to change his body? It's a social construct. Crazy. Then there is yesterday's news. The Minnesota Senate passed a bill to ensure that "every individual has a fundamental right to make autonomous decisions about the individual's own reproductive health." Science says that the fetus in the woman's womb is an individual life, with distinct organs, DNA, brain, etc., but Minnesota is hellbent (take that as you will) on removing that decision from those individuals. Crazy. (That Planned Parenthood had a hand in it is really crazy since this is just making sure they maintain a steady revenue stream ... built on dead babies.)

We live in crazy times and that gives us lots of reasons to fear. So it is comforting to read repeatedly in Scripture, "Fear not." It is comforting to know that our God does all that He pleases (Psa 115:3) and all that He pleases to do is good (Rom 8:28). It is a relief to hear that "in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Rom 8:37). It is even restful to learn that "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" if we take our concerns to Him (Php 4:6-7). There are lots of reasons to fear in our world today, and we have one reason not to -- "He has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" (Heb 13:5) Lots of good reasons to fear, but we can "fear not" because "I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me" (2 Tim 1:12).