Frozen By Fear
For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
-- Matthew 25:29
This is not a description of God's unfairness.. It is not a description of what ought to be. It's a description of what is -- those who have more multiply their wealth much more easily than do those in the grip of poverty. Poor people have a hard time with risk: they live in an all-or-nothing world that little resembles the cushioned reality of those with more money. Reverses of fortune will come to everyone, but they will not be fatal to everyone. A rich entrepreneur may lose a larger amount in a risky endeavor gone bad, but the smaller amount a poor one loses may be all there is.
So grow while you can. Risk whenever you can bring yourself to do so. Be bold, even when everything in you trembles with fear at your own boldness. Commit to growing, for if you do not, you will surely shrink.
Misfortune makes us fear more misfortune. Instinctively, we contract. In every arena of human experience, the same: unlucky in love, we refuse to love again, and doom ourselves to a life of loneliness. Unemployed and unrewarded in the search for work, we yield to our discouragement and stop looking. Unable to control our eating, our drinking, our gambling, our shopping -- we give up, turning our fate over to the demon of addiction who desires our death. Unable to endure our physical pain, we refuse the therapy that will help to vanquish it. It's no use, we tell ourselves bitterly, and this feels like common sense.
This is not sin. It is just the way we are. It's just our weakness -- fear guts us. Boldness is in short supply when we've been hollowed out by brutal history, whether by our own hand or another's. A power greater than our own is needed when we can't seem to do anything but curl up in a ball and wait for the end, and the courage needed to call on that power is huge.
It is a courage beyond us. We're fresh out of courage. But we're not out of desperation -- we have plenty of that. I've come to the end of my rope, we say. I am powerless. But if there is Anyone out there, come into me now. Stiffen me so I can stand again. Help me take the first step into my new life when the old one lies in shards around my feet.
My own lack of courage does not determine the sum of courage in the universe. Some of humanity's greatest achievements arose from the ashes of defeat. God enters human history, powerful but silent, almost invisible -- we look up in the darkness and see a glimmer of light.
Copyright © 2011 Barbara Crafton
And from my pal Carri Ann:
sometimes the things we do to ourselves because of an innate sense of self protection can over the long term become a wall of fear. Thanks for the share P. I really enjoyed reading this
ReplyDeleteYou've distilled it down to its essence, PA.
ReplyDeleteWell said, both of you.
ReplyDeleteI read this yesterday and have been thinking it over since ... it is certainly a important message.
ReplyDeleteWell, Matthew had me fooled. Without Crafton to . . . interpret? . . . it sure sounds like a mean edict from on high. I'd like to say I'll go check it out for context, but I'm trying to be realistic. (like Matthew?).
ReplyDeleteThere was at least a bit of this topic on NPR earlier this afternoon--about depression and the need to see beyond the walls that seem rise up and close in. How to do that? I think the guest therapist was there to discuss that (I only caught a bit).
B52, the Bible is a distillation of oral traditions rooted in Middle Eastern culture and if anyone tells you differently they're just kidding themselves. Once you understand that it opens up into this beautiful commentary on how to live a Godly and balanced life. I hate being preached at and I would be lost without people like Barbara to explain scripture in such personal AND practical terms.
ReplyDeleteI would've interpreted Matthew's words like Banjo without Barbara's commentary. Her words really resonate with me. Thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteDo u still do your daily photo blog?
ReplyDelete