Instrument-4-Christ

If God spares me long enough to become well-stricken in years, someday I will tell young people, “I remember the days when the line for Chipotle stretched halfway through the parking lot.”

Yes, Chipotle often has a line, but, no, it doesn’t usually stretch that far. But today the lines at grocery stores, coffee shops, and restaurants are 2-6 times longer than they were only a few months ago.

(By the way, I don’t really like the term “social distancing.” I prefer the term that I heard Tony Evans mention the other day, “physical distancing.” Social distancing has been happening for years, largely thanks to smartphones.)

Times have changed, and only time will tell whether the old normal will return or whether this new normal has ushered in a new era.

But one thing that hasn’t changed is fear. The only difference is that now it has manifested itself with a new agent.

Fear is everywhere, and it quickly spreads from person to person regardless of how far apart we stand. Even the isolated are not exempt.

The symptoms? Worry, panic, and stress. In severe cases, self-destruction. Do you realize how scary it is when a self-imposed emotion suddenly has the power to destroy you?

So how does fear survive and grow inside a person’s soul?

Simple. We recognize our fear, try to conquer it, and then grow more fearful when we fail. The process repeats itself until our minds are incapable of handling the stress that we have placed upon ourselves.

Fear is deceptive, telling victims, “You are stronger than me. You can control me. Do whatever you have to conquer me.” The victims listen, react, and fall deeper into the trap they set for themselves.

This harmful cycle continues indefinitely.

Fear Lights Covid-19 may have changed your life in the last few days. Maybe a friend or family member has contracted the virus and is fighting to stay alive. Maybe you have lost your job or have suffered a cutback in hours. Maybe your upcoming vacation was canceled.

Maybe you are a senior citizen and have seen your investments diminish. Maybe you are a senior in high school or college and are wondering if you’ll be able to graduate this spring. Maybe nothing has happened to you and you are just waiting for something bad to come your way.

You can still live without fear.

“That’s impossible! I can’t control my circumstances!”

Correct. But you can control your responses.

Fear is a choice.

Fear, however, is not the only option. Actually, let me place a condition on that statement.

Fear is not the only choice for a born-again Christian. For everyone else, fear is still a choice, but it is the only choice they have.

If you set a bowl of oatmeal before an unhealthily skinny, starved person, they have a choice. They can eat the food or reject it. The choice is not between several different types of food. They simply get to eat what is before them or continue to starve.

Those who have not placed their faith in Jesus Christ and accepted his forgiveness of sin have only one choice before them when hardships and trials come: fear. They choose to fear because choosing not to fear is the equivalent of ignoring what is going on around them.

But for those of us who have a personal relationship with God?

Fear is a choice, but it’s not the only one, and it’s not the best one.

Why? We will explore that concept in the next post.

But here’s a hint: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Stay tuned…after all, you probably have a little extra free time right now anyway 🙂

(If you enjoyed this post, I would appreciate it if you share it with others!)

Fear Scrabble Pieces Humanly speaking, capitalism has made America one of the greatest economic successes in history.

Of course, we know that God ultimately has blessed America so that our country could become what it is today. But I believe he has blessed us because of our overall desire to do things the way he intended us to do them.

What is the first command in recorded history? “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28).

God told humanity to fill the world with his image, subdue it, and have dominion over it.

Now, do your research, and you’ll discover that no one in history subdued anything and gained dominion over anything while sitting down and doing nothing.

It requires work! God created man and told him to work. Thus, fulfilling God’s will requires effort. Good things don’t “just happen.”

Okay, back to America.

The outworking of “supply and demand” has made us one of the wealthiest nations in the world.

American Revolution Do your research again: America did not gain its independence by signing the Declaration of Independence and going off to the prairie to build log cabins. Nor did America become wealthy by giving everyone everything they wanted for free.

Is our country perfect? Of course not. Stealing land from Native Americans was not right. Forced slavery of other human beings was not right. Other wrong actions could be added to this list.

On the other hand, our country eventually realized that those things were wrong and chose to do what is right (most of the time). If you want property, you should pay for it. If you want someone to work for you, you should pay them in accordance with their effort.

If you want to improve someone’s life, you should work hard to find better solutions than those that already exist. If you want nice things, you should work so that you have the means to obtain those things.

Ephesians 4:28 says, “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”

You don’t get rich by stealing. You don’t bless people by defrauding others. You don’t become an Olympic athlete by sitting on your couch watching Olympic events. You don’t build immaculate skyscrapers by playing video games. You don’t become a concert musician by owning 17 different instruments.

Get the point?

Good.

So imagine this. A wealthy country gets invaded by an invisible enemy in the form of a life-threatening virus. Actually, let’s make it worse and say that the virus is a pandemic.

This virus has no permanent solution. It infects millions, hospitalizes hundreds of thousands, and kills thousands.

Flu Virus

What should the aforementioned wealthy country do? Well, a reasonable response would be to require sick people to stay home until they recover, encourage everyone to constantly wash their hands and eat healthy, and perhaps advise people to wear masks, especially those who have the virus.

Remember, good things do not just happen. They require effort. Good health requires effort.

Well, this virus has come to America, hundreds of thousands have been infected, thousands have been hospitalized, and hundreds have died.

The virus? Influenza, of course.

You knew I would say that, right?

So, how have we responded to the flu(s)? Well, we encourage people to get their annual flu shots. But that’s about it.

We still let kids go to school with the flu. Yeah, they will probably pass it on to their friends who will pass it on to their families, eventually killing infants and older people and those with existing medical complications. But we still send them to school anyway.

Hand washing? Yeah, we do that after using the restroom (sometimes). But doing it throughout the day? Not necessary.

Wearing masks if we have the flu? C’mon, this is America, not Asia!

To summarize, America does not fear the flu! Thousands of people die every year in America while capitalism continues to drive our economy, pushing up the stock market, moving people into bigger houses, and minting new millionaires every month.

We go about our business thinking, “Nothing to fear. It’s just the flu.”

But now the plot thickens as a new character enters the scene: Covid-19.

The novel Coronavirus is like nothing we have seen in recent years. Not as deadly as SARS and Ebola, but it moves much faster. For now, it’s not as widespread as the flu, but it has a higher death rate.

Our response? Fear.

Fear of the unknown and fear of death.

The result? Thankfully, many wise moves have been made by many people, especially those in leadership roles in our country.

But fear has also made us unreasonable as we have unconsciously called for the death of capitalism.

Stock Market Crash 2020 The stock market appears to have the virus, falling about 30% and currently gasping for air.

We have flooded the stores, greedily hoping to buy everything we think we need before someone else gets it.

Online shoppers have bought out face masks and hand sanitizer, driving up demand but complaining when prices go up.

Now congress tries to pass a bill that will encourage those without work to stay home as long as possible without working because they can get paid more for doing nothing.

Fear has crippled our economy, but for no good reason. America (and the world) has survived worse things, and those things usually made economies stronger.

This pandemic will be no different. People will find new and better ways to do things as a result of having to adapt, and our economy will continue to grow. The stock market will have new all-time highs again, and we will continue to build bigger houses.

We will amass newer and nicer and more things that we don’t need because our economy will continue to move right along after this virus is contained.

Well, that is, if we resuscitate capitalism and preserve it for future generations.

This is not the time to be cashing out your investments. Save the money because capitalism will grow it again.

Do not load up on toilet paper, flour, sugar, meat, pizza, and hand sanitizer. Keep your supplies at your normal levels and go back to the stores when you need more. Capitalism will keep those stores open and stocked.

Stop complaining about price gouging. That’s how the “law of supply and demand” works. The more something is in demand, and the less it is in supply, the more it will cost. That is fair and reasonable. That is capitalism, and it improves our lives in the long run.

If Congress passes this bill and you get checks in the mail, think twice before spending that money. If you still have your job, maybe consider giving the money to someone who lost there’s. Perhaps give more to your church to help them stay on track with their annual budget. Send some to missionaries or donate to Feed My Starving Children. Just some ideas.

Please help our country and do not let this virus overrun capitalism. Do not let fear make you lazy.

Maybe you are hurting financially right now. Rather than being afraid, let this time motivate you to work harder with what God has given you.

Do not fear. God designed us to work.

(If you enjoyed this post, I would appreciate it if you share it with others!)

Instrument-4-Christ

Fear Is a Choice

What Impact Does Fear Have on the Economy?