Fear and Punishment

Greetings, Sister, Brothers, and Friends of the Community!

Here’s a little verse to reflect on this coming week. I’d be interested in knowing your thoughts about it:

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.” I John 4:18

For me, although this appears on the surface as a possible measurement for our state of love, I was drawn to the phrase “for fear has to do with punishment.”

Our society certainly has an element of fear woven throughout, and it is used quite prominently in political campaigns and to shape public opinion. And although fear is a highly effective motivator, and can alert us to some real dangers, it loses much of its power when we consider it in the same light that John did – “fear has to do with punishment.”

Generally when we are “afraid” we are holding the fear in the present moment as we imagine some forthcoming consequence, predicament or malady in the future. John knew that if we diminish the power of the punishment, that is, we no longer consider it detrimental to our interests, then the present moment fear withers away in direct proportion to the impact of the punishment.

So, how can we do this? Well, first we need to consider if the “punishment” is real, or man-made. How often did our worry in the past actually bring the “fruits” it promised? Rarely.
And what exactly is being threatened? Is it our true self (which is destructible only by God himself) or is it our own egos, which can be dented by the awkward glance of a child?

It is important to distinguish between the things that really matter and those that don’t (which is most of the stuff we can think up). With God in control of our ultimate destiny, decide what really matters to you now.

Blessings to all!

Brother Daniel-Joseph, CTG