Words of Faith: I choose faith over fear

Fear or faith, what will it be?

I choose faith.

People sometimes ask why I travel to places off the beaten path. Am I not afraid to go to places like Northern Iraq? Cairo? Baghdad? And in September, my spouse and I are off to Cuba to talk with folks there about their lives and faith.

A short answer is that I’m going because I believe that God is calling me to do so, to meet with and learn from people whose lives are very different from my own, and where faith takes different expressions.

People will then often ask whether I’m frightened. The answer is, not really. And there may be several reasons for that. First is that I was raised in a fearless home. My parents were not fearful people, and did not communicate to us that the world is a place to be feared, but a place to be explored and enjoyed. My Dad was a police officer, and certainly knew the risks involved in life, but taught us to be wise, not fearful.

So, I travel. To explore, to learn, to grow.

But you don’t have to travel to feel fearful, I guess. When I hear people speak of people who are different, I often hear fear. When I listen to political commentary, I hear a LOT of fear.

But I am not afraid. Partly because of my parents’ modeling and teaching, but mostly because I am a person of faith. A group at our church has been studying “What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Jewishness of Jesus: A New Way of Seeing the Most Influential Rabbi in History,” by Rabbi Evan Moffic. Rabbi Moffic suggests that the Abrahamic religions see fear as that which emerges when we wander from faith.

The Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt and danced and sang as they celebrated their freedom and their faith, in thanksgiving to the One who had arranged their freedom. And about 10 minutes later (more or less) were grousing in the wilderness about their worries over food and water. Their faith was forgotten, and they figured that maybe slavery hadn’t been so bad.

And the disciples, who had seen such miracles, and were drawn to Jesus in faith… until they were on the sea and the wind rose. They forgot their faith, gave in to their fears, and berated Jesus for sleeping calmly.

Moffic suggests that although all these people had had significant faith experiences with God, they allowed their fears to overpower their faith.

Now I do NOT believe that if we have faith, that bad things won’t happen. I do NOT believe that if bad things do happen, that we will be rescued if we have faith.

What I DO believe is that by living into my faith and not my fears, I am a happier and more grounded person, I am empowered to live more fully, and to live in community with people different from myself rather than fear them.

And I can do this because I believe that the God who created me, who has loved me from before my birth, is trustworthy and deserving of my faith. I do believe, as Presbyterians are wont to say, “in life and in death, we belong to God.” We therefore have nothing to fear.

This story was originally published August 3, 2016 at 1:42 PM with the headline "Words of Faith: I choose faith over fear."