Fear

I recently wrote about my “Star” for the year – Self-control and what that might mean.
As I scroll through my FaceBook feed I’m forced to face my self-control head on. I’m assaulted with the wings of the spectrum, mostly far left and far right. The world is a scary place and you can read about it directly on any newsopinion site you chose.  If you haven’t guessed the newsopinion is what most simply call News, yet true news of just reporting the facts is pretty much a lost profession. It’s far more profitable to be selective in the reporting and couch things in such a way as to cause someone, or group to become upset. The easiest way to upset folks is to stir them up.

Stir up the fears most of us harbor. The fear of the unknown in all of its forms. Fear of unknown people. We can call them migrants, aliens, refugees and our lack of knowledge leads us to pick our newsopinion site and believe it lock, stock and barrel. Oh, and speaking of barrels, rile them up with fear of losing their rifles. Now that will set some folks OFF! That way we can infer that background checks might lead to registration, and registration to confiscation. Right. Now I’m not so naïve to believe the few additional background checks will curb the shootings in this country either. But now I’ve equally upset the polar opposites in this country. I’m hoping to find some middle ground that we can all call America.

There are any number of issues in this country that need to be addressed. Racism still exists, police reform is needed, too many folks are homeless – including a number of veterans, there is an ever widening wealth gap, the global climate change looks to be a force of change, technology is ever more helpful and yet also potentially harmful. The problems need to be faced and addressed. The difficulty is in the range of attitudes surrounding them. The problems are complex, the causes are numerous and nuanced. The solutions will require greater understanding, study, compromise, sacrifice and persistence to solve. Blaming and causing division is NOT the solution, yet I don’t think there is any candidate that will run on a platform of study, compromise and sacrifice. The public won’t buy that. We are the problem; I am the problem. Fear is the problem.

I fear for my safety. We fear for our economic wellbeing. I don’t want to be content with what I have. We don’t want to share. I don’t want to sacrifice. It’s far easier to say “they should”, not “what can I do.”

Contentedness. Greed. Sacrifice. Fear. They fight to coexist in some marginal optimum, yet they cannot. Resentment or joy remain the undebatable conclusions.

I’m left to conclude that I (we) do not love as I (we) ought, and my self-control is not what it needs to be.

There is no fear in love.  (1 John 4:18)

Seeing Stars

For the Christian circle, this Sunday is Epiphany Sunday. It’s the day celebrated in remembrance of the Magi (Wiseman) visiting Christ. The Bible indicates they followed the Star to Bethlehem.  Given that they are said to returned to their lands by a route different than they came, and avoided going back to King Herod, we can arguably say they were changed by the encounter. For you non-Christian friends, hang in there with me, this story has universal application, and I don’t plan on preaching at you. I will, though, be asking you a question for consideration.  Just consideration,, okay?

Think what you will of “Christians”, we come in all shapes, sizes and temperaments – just like the rest of society. So what do we collectively think of the following words:  Joy, Peace, Patience, Self-Control, faithfulness, joy, gentleness, kindness, and goodness? I feel it safe to say that we can all agree these traits are admirable. It could be (should be) wise to live in such a way as to demonstrate these characteristics. Would it bother you if these are Biblical? I hope not.

We have had a tradition of celebrating Epiphany by picking out at random a paper star with one of those words on it. That selected word is one to look for over the course of the year. It is the word to perhaps develop or see unfold, directly or indirectly over the next year. My randomly selected word for 2016 is Self-Control, and in the Greek, it is actually one word. Self-control. 

Self-control is certainly a trait that needs strengthening within me. My poor choice of language, verbal mostly, is in desperate need for some cleaning. I’ve been working with sailors for too long, and the culture has worn off on me.  I could stand to show a little more restraint in the use of my right foot on the gas pedal when upset. There are numbers of things that will come to mind as I sit here. Yet, I mentioned this is a tradition. We’ve been doing this random selection of our Stars for some 20 years now. I know for sure that how I’m viewing the Star will change as this year unfolds. Of all the words on the list above, this one seems the most daunting to me.

That is a sentiment that I confess is misplaced. This list of characteristics is refered to as Fruit of the Spirit and are considered good gifts – all of them. While they are considered gifts, I know they can be ignored and left as undesired, especially in the heat of the moment. Can you be kind in the face of adversity? Can you be good in the face of evil done to you? Can you be good when harm becomes you? Can you be faithful – always? Can you be gentle when in the midst of cruelty? Can you show joy when ill? Can I show self-control in a traffic jam, or in a meeting when I hold the minority opinion, or in an argument with a loved one? Choosing to seek the gift, to take a breath, slow down, decide what matters, that’s a challenge we all should be accepting.

So, how about it? If you made it this far, would you be willing to pick a random star this year? We can work this many ways.  I’m willing to set up a random number generator, you select a number and I’ll send back the random word assigned.  Or you could do the same. Or as some friends have done, make you own set of stars with all possibilities – multiples of them is better, and pick one.

I believe if we all looked for and followed our Stars, we learn and grow…  and isn’t that what life should be about?

Blessings,

Brian