Is Fear Always Bad?
IT CAN ruin happiness and destroy hope. It has been referred to as mental poison, the destroyer of reason, and it is said to be more destructive than the worst physical malady. Yes, fear is a powerful emotion. Yet, is it always bad?
Imagine that you are driving along an unfamiliar road. The road climbs into the mountains and starts twisting and turning. Night begins to fall, and with it comes a light dusting of snow. Your car skids a little, and you realize that you have reached an elevation where the road is becoming icy.
Now you have to be very alert. As you carefully negotiate each icy bend, you reflect on how easy it would be to lose control of the car on the slippery surface and plunge into the valley below. Moreover, you have no idea what other dangers are lurking in the darkness. As thoughts like these come to mind, your mouth dries and your heart beats a little faster. You are wide awake. Whatever you were thinking of before, you are now completely occupied with the task at hand: to keep the car on the road and avoid an accident.
Finally, the road descends to a lower elevation. There are streetlights, and there is no more ice. Gradually, the tension leaves your body. You relax and breathe a sigh of relief. All that fear for nothing!
But was it all for nothing? Not really. Reasonable nervousness under such circumstances is a normal reaction. It makes us alert, wary. Healthy fear can help us not to do anything rash, injuring ourselves. Yes, fear is not always a destroyer of reason or a mental poison. Under some circumstances, it can even be beneficial.
The Bible speaks about fear and draws two particular kinds to our attention. One kind of fear is indeed a mental poison. But the other is not only normal and healthy but essential to our salvation. What are the two kinds of fear? And how can we learn to develop the one while avoiding the other? This will be discussed in the following article.