Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. [Luke 12:32 KJV]
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. [Ps 110:10 NRSV]
We tend to fear people who are different from us. Christians fear Muslims and Muslims fear Christians. Conservatives fear liberals and liberals fear conservatives. Americans fear Iraqis and Iraqis fear Americans. Straights fear gays and gays fear straights. And so on and so forth.
Fear is at the core of many of our divisions and prejudices. If we can move beyond our fears we just might be able to heal our world and learn to live in peace, united in our humanity.
You might find it interesting ot know that in the Bible [both Hebrew and Greek] there are two meanings for the word "fear." The first is what we usually think of when we hear this word: to be afraid, frightened or alarmed. This kind of fear is destructive, especially it is the core emotion we attach to the way we feel about our neighbor.
The second meaning of the word "fear" is "to be in awe of, to reverence, or to worship." While I'm not advocating that we worship our neighbor, I am suggesting that if we can look at all our neighbors with reverence, seeing everyone as a child of God, it will radically change the way we view and interact with the world.
3 comments:
Dear Rev. David:
I stumbled onto your blog while I was searching for articles titled "I Am Gay" for my Diversity and Inclusion course at Villanova University.
I really love your discovery of the word "fear" in light of the Greek and Hebrew. I love Scripture and I have studied Greek and Hebrew. There is such a wealth of treasure in learning the different meanings/understandings of Greek a Hebrew terms. Thank you for sharing your insights.
One of the things that has been making my life easier is seeing EVERYONE as a divine child of God. Yes, even the woman who gets in the 15 items or less line at the grocery store with 20 items. Or the person that cuts you off in traffic or speaking too loudly on the bus. We are all diving children of God on our own spiritual journeys. God bless and thanks always for your spiritual gifts!
God bless you.Greetings from Poland.
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