God

Fear into Hope; Hate into Joy

Life is fraught. Not like it was, now it’s more fragile and anxious. The public square is a place of fear and alienation. It appears that there is a vast army arrayed against us and we need to prevail.

Hidden in the mist is the message that a change is near. Things are going to change; we’ll be on top and our enemies will be washed away. Many of the holy books seem to talk of it. Although the words change, the outcome is the same. We’ll be avenged against the rest and our suffering will be replaced by eternal joy.

All of these stories are based in “Dethism,” the belief that the others should die and that their destruction, debasement and dissolution are justified. Their elimination is desirable because it satiates our grievances and it is expected to alleviate our suffering. Accelerating a prophesied apocalypse is a transaction with God: that if we stay faithful, He will reward us in the end.

Sacrifice is not a common word in modern political vocabularies. Often the thought is, rather, by giving, one will receive a benefit from the transaction. A transaction is a sorry way to interact with someone you care about. You don’t give your child a hug to get something in return. “Honey I’m home!” is an expression of love and enthusiasm for a special relationship; not an expectation of a reward. Expecting God to act a certain way based on one’s own righteousness is an attempt to activate a transaction with the Uncontrollable, to trammel Him in so He will satiate those desires more quickly.

Making another happy without hope of return can release an enduring joy. One’s own strength and humanity can abide against the ones who are plotting how to produce the dethist future they imagine. Dethists are moving toward their own lamentable exercise of power. They don’t have the thought that one can offer devotion to a stranger and that their devotion will raise them both up.

If fear is all they have to offer, I can combat it with dogged joy. Joy can outlast the attitudes of enmity, alienation and division. One of the powers of such love is that it does not ask for something in return.

Walk into a future with hope that is stronger than fear. Offer joy that is elevated above the hatred.

Trust Covers Fear

Like in the rock-paper-scissors game, there are three positive attitudes that can conquer three common negative ones. Just as paper covers rock, the positive attitudes are capable of destroying the negative. I thought I’m calling the 3 negative ones the terrestrial trio and the three positive ones the celestial triad.

So, Fear is the first in terrestrial trio and it can be covered by the celestial triad principle of Trust.

Fear is a basic human reaction to danger. It keeps us safe and it is very sensitive… You don’t want the rustling brush to be hiding a saber-tooth tiger. So, to play it safe, humans are really good at finding things to fear. Saber-tooth tiger crouching

Unfortunately, that biological machinery is way more powerful than people need in the modern world. Everyone can imagine the worst really easily. They give that fear a reality and power that the cynical and powerful can use to control the fearful.

People in recovery say that fear is a lack of faith.

One aspect of faith is trust. You trust that God and your companions will care for you. You treat your neighbor as you would like to be treated. In doing that, you trust that they will be reasonable. You recognize the ways that people are similar more than you notice how they are different.

When you are afraid of someone, you inherently don’t trust them. But trust is an essential part of society. Without trust, the mechanics of a society break down.

To look at the civil rights movement, it wasn’t just Rosa Parks resisting segregation on that bus. It was a whole host of uncelebrated people that worked together to make the Montgomery Bus Boycott work. The workers in that fight were organized. They had a strategy. They had specific goals. They trusted their cause and (especially) the others working with them.

When people go out to the streets to protest, they cannot change things in the ways that trust can accomplish. A group grounded in trust can help leader’s fears can fall to the side as they grow a shared trust.

Leaders that feel trust will compromise, work in the solution and develop creative answers. When you work with people that you trust, you can be organized and have a long-lasting impact.

So, getting back to the topic, with fear, you are separate and full of discord. The expression divide and conquer exists for a reason. When people act out of fear, they don’t have a base for cooperation and can be easily manipulated.

By using the spiritual principle of Trust instead of the untameable reaction of Fear, unity can develop. Fear can’t develop a way forward because it is looking back. Vision and insight that are rooted in trust can lead to change and success.

Original image: Saber-tooth tiger. By davlenjah [Image license]

[2016-07-15: edit and revision]