The power of fear…
Fear is a powerful thing… I remember hearing stories about a teenager who was victim of a prank. His friends tied him up to the rails near a busy train station. Blindfolded and unable to free himself, he heard the sound of a train approaching the station, he felt the ground vibrating underneath him, and listened to his friends laughing. The sounds grew louder, the vibration more powerfully and the laughter more hysterical. The train passed… on the rails just next to him. His friends screamed and laughed ever more, approaching him to taunt him about his own screams of desperation. But the kid was dead. His heart didn’t resist the stress of the moment and he passed away. Died of fear.
It’s one of those stories that everyone seems to know and may even swear they know when and where it took place. Powerful urban legends that seem to cross frontiers and generations. But the message is as real today as it was decades ago: fear can kill. Our fears, substantiated by reality or not, can affect the way we live, the way we relate to others and the way we plan our future.
Over the last months we have grown more and more scared of Covid-19, the new virus that has thrown the world upside down, crashed markets, closed schools and cancelled public events. Even as I am writing this column, whole countries are going into lockdown, more and more airlines are cancelling trips and yes, you know it, more and more toilet paper is disappearing from the shelves. We are in a region with a lot of people in the most fragile demographic, and it makes sense to be careful and proactive. But to act in fear only awakens the worst in us: selfishness, short-sightedness, despair. In time like these we need wisdom, we need calm, and we need extravagant courage that is found in serving love. We need to remember the God that tells us 365 times in the Bible “Do not fear!” Let’s remember we are at our best when we are selfless, open to help, aware of the needs of the community. Let’s continue to love one another with the love of Christ! We may have hard times ahead, but together, with the grace of God, we can stand strong. So be filled with faith and wisdom: listen to the health authorities and keep your eyes open for opportunities to be a blessing.