“Live Fearless”

A billboard along I-80 in Omaha says, “Live Fearless” – so declares an insurance company.  Really?  The company is suggesting that if you have a policy with them – the right policy – you can face tomorrow with no fears.

Let’s see, so if I lose my job, they offer to meet all my financial needs, guarantee a job replacement with equal pay and no need to uproot my family, and trump all the emotional pain that goes with being released.  They offer to protect me from a drunk driver running a stoplight and then eliminate the post fears of not fully recovering or facing surgeries and weeks of therapy.  They will keep the fear away when the doctor says there is something wrong with my blood.  They will be able to keep all fears at bay when I find a lump in my armpit.  What a deal!

If I sign on with them, buying all their policies – even their very best policies – I can live fearless.  Yes!  What a deal!

But, it is NOT a deal!  All my money to them and all their efforts cannot remove fear or give a person the joy of living fearless.  Their promo is simply not feasible.

And there is another aspect to this fear thing.

God calls men to fear Him AND He expects men to thank Him for His patience, mercy and grace experienced daily (Romans 1:19-21).  To not be thankful places a person squarely at odds with the Judge of the Universe who is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:36) and angry (John 3:36) with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11).  He has promised that all people will die and then stand before Him; the holy, holy, holy Judge (John 5:28-29).  Do we have any idea what it will be like to stand before God?  Then this God has promised to cast those not thankful into an eternal Hell being separated from goodness and marked by deep darkness, agony, and want (thirst).

One simply cannot live fearless and at the same time grasp the world’s situation and one’s coming demise.

And, for those who have embraced Jesus as their Savior and Lord, God is still to be feared. Oh, not a fear causing one to cower in the corner, but a fear that is deeply concerned about God’s smile and blessings.  The good fear God desires is one rooted in respect for His sovereign rule and desires that His name be exalted in every aspect of life.

Now, being a Christian does not mean harsh, hard, and hurtful things will not come along.  The first response to such instances will almost always be fear.  But, if a person has grown in Jesus, the fear will subside for God makes no mistakes and uses the thorns of life to show His power and love (II Corinthians 12:9).

I suggest that no one – no one – can or should live fearlessly.