Dictionary.com defines it like this: a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. I enjoy using this acronym to describe it. False Evidence Appearing Real. I'm not sure who coined it but it puts a good perspective on it. We all know of the dangers to our flesh and blood but at least for now I'm concentrating more on the emotional fears we all have.
Granted I strive to rid myself of all fear because it helps me to make a clear minded rational decision about any situation I might find myself in. Besides that most often our fear is just imagined, the monsters under our bed so to speak. Giving it life by acknowledging it is only making things worse.
God has shown me that fear is a lot of things. Negative faith, negative emotion, and a catalyst for sin. If you fear something you are giving it power to happen. Negative emotions all come from fear. Fear protects pride which promotes sin. All of this I will expound on in the next series of blogs.
Galatians 5:16-26
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
I shared this passage with you because it shows clearly the contrast between the fruits of the spirit and the works of the flesh. I like to call it the Fruits of Fear and the Fruits of Love. I will be going over each of these fruits of fear in the next several blogs.
Selfishness
Selfishness is an emotion that is often times so subtle it goes unnoticed by the untrained eye. We have become numb to it to the point that we don't even realize we are doing it. I think there are many different definitions I could give it but I'd say it's put simplest as the fear of being unhappy.
We would go to the ends of the earth for happiness. The thing is we sabotage our happiness by our own actions. Fear makes us believe that it's OK to be selfish as Christians. I have found, at least in my own life, that helping others is the only time I'm truly happy. Granted we can't do everything and it is possible to do too much. If we string ourselves out too far we'll be no good to anyone.
For me one of the greatest joys in life is giving. Even if it isn't much just being able to brighten someone's day gives the "warm fuzzies". The thought crossed my mind that it might even be a good way to combat depression. However if we aren't giving with a cheerful heart it profits us nothing.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
Selfishness is probably the biggest fear of all because it's the basis for all negative emotion. If we instead look at life through God's eyes and concentrate on being selfless, unselfish, then we have a whole lot less to fear. So in other words, if we set aside the fear of unhappiness and realize what truly makes us happy instead of relying on what we think makes us happy and just give without fear we will ultimately be happier. Fear brings torment. So how long are we willing to torment ourselves before we decide to do something about it?
This song has to be my favorite at the moment. The line "But a house made of mirrors never helps you see any clearer it's yourself you can't see past" really brings a better understanding to what I'm trying to say. If you've never been in a house of mirrors at a carnival you probably won't fully understand but imagine a maze where all the walls are mirrors. It's hard to see which way to go even though there is only one path. We get stuck because we concentrate on the mirrors, ourselves. We get bumped and bruised because the way is so hard to see. If you were to paint over the mirrors however the result would be far easier. You could walk through the maze without bumping into anything.
Imagine that our minds are just one big mirror maze. As long as we remain selfish all we will be able to see is ourselves. We'll get distracted by selfish thoughts. When someone asks you for money on the street you make excuses for why you can't give. It's inconvenient, I don't have it, I really wanted that new high tech gadget and if I help this person I won't be able to get it, they'll just go buy booze with it... Yeah we have a million excuses. Granted each situation is different we just have to be open to the guidance of the holy spirit. All I'm saying is selfishness shouldn't be an excuse.
I encourage you to watch the whole thing but if you wish skip to 1:58 and watch for a few seconds.
Just like Joyce's 'robot' we all have a tendency to only concentrate on ourselves. This behavior is most often self destructive. It gives a foothold to things that you really don't want in your life if you only knew they were lurking in the shadows. I believe I covered well in the previous part of this series how to best combat this form of fear but if you need more look in the comments section of that post.
In a nutshell, If we can learn to love others as Christ loved us you won't have much trouble with this. We will be focused on others instead of ourselves and therefore not thinking of ourselves which puts most selfishness behind us. Ulterior motives have no place in love either so when I say thinking of others I mean thinking of others. Not thinking of how thinking of others could help you.
If we can learn to successfully combat selfishness we won't have much trouble with fear in general.
Philippians 2:3
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
Fear is one of our greatest areas of weakness. If we can identify what areas we are weak in then we can allow God to give us strength to overcome.
2 Corinthians 12:9
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
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