Fear and His Friends
“So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:31
“…Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I: do not be afraid.’” Matthew 14:27
“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee , there they will see me.” Matthew 28:10
It is astonishing how often in the gospels that Jesus utters the words, “Do not be afraid,” or “Fear not.” Actually, according to some sources, seventy times all together though I confess, I haven’t counted. Either the disciples were the most cowardly bunch of folks living at the time, or this was a message that Jesus really wanted to get across to everyone. Do not be afraid.
Today, any good psychologist would say that all negative emotions are based in fear. Pessimism, negativity, insecurity, anger, resentment, hatred; all are fear-based emotions and all of them do a lot of unhappy things to our body-minds. The twelve-step folks would say, for instance, that resentment is the emotion that holds addictions in place. You only have to watch the evening news to see what an environment of fear and anger we live in today. And there are those who stoke the fires of human negativity for their own purposes.
Jesus’ words, his commandments, really, are just as applicable today as they were two thousand years ago. Fear is the enemy. Fear stops us from doing what needs to be done, and fear causes us to do what we should not. I like the words from Matthew, “Take heart…” Have courage, in other words. Be brave. Do not allow fear, or any of fear’s colleagues, to stand between you and your faith, or between you and whatever life is calling you to do. Do not let resentment, anger, rage, pessimism, hatred or insecurity to rule the day. Those emotions require enormous energy. If our energy is fueling them, then it isn’t available to us for more positive endeavors.
Today, whenever you feel a negative emotion, hear Jesus whisper in your ear, “Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid.”
Namaste,
Jane
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