Love and Fear

Religion needs an angry god, and fear of his retribution, in order to survive. Religion is based on doing good and avoiding bad, however those are defined by said religion, in order to incur the god's blessing and avoid his/her/its wrath. Without fear religion doesn't work.

Jesus never came to establish a religion. He came to make it possible for us to have a real and living relationship with the real and living God. Fear can motivate me to behave... for awhile. Fear controls the mind. Love wins the heart. It changes the motivation--the want-to.

God doesn't use fear to accomplish anything. Fear always motivates people toward self-preservation, never into real relationship. God wants a real relationship with you.

Religion believes that it takes fearing for our own our necks to get us to "act right". It's not out of some high calling to serve our fellow man, but out of a much lower desperation to save our own hides. In terms of my relationship with God, love has done for me what fear never did.

God doesn't use fear, guilt and shame to leverage us into a relationship. Real relationship is based on love, not fear. "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."(1 John 4:18)

A writer on another blog recently wrote: "Largely we've been sold a bill of goods in the past 25 years by evangelical leaders who have mistakenly taught us that Christianity is about protecting a way of life—a Christian nation, a civil/social morality. For many years now, Christians have been drawing lines, putting sinners on one side and themselves on the other, and saying, 'Be afraid of those people over there. They are out to get you. They will ruin your country, your lifestyle, your government… you name it.'

"What is tragic about this is how it reduces Christianity to politics, economics, social and lifestyle issues, and everything outside of this is threatening to those who believe this way. Those affected by this thinking end up too afraid to love, they are so threatened by the world around them. They define their Christian lives around the framework they've built to protect them from the pains, sorrows, and realities of real life. They have no idea how real grace can work in their lives."

It really comes down to a choice between love and fear. And I think sometimes we actually prefer fear. Fear means we don't have to be responsible. We are victims and there are people to blame for our predicament. But love means I walk with God into whatever is producing the fear and work it out. Love is taking responsibility instead of blaming. Love is almost always about being vulnerable... love is risky.

God does not use fear to motivate His children. He loves His children and moves them through love to action. Jesus and fear cannot occupy the same throne.