Death by Fear

We live in a culture of rabid fear mongering.  Every time you turn on the television or get on the net, you hear or read about something that can kill you.  It used to be this was at least limited to magazine articles and TV reports, but now with the internet, you can be bombarded 24/7.  I have wearied of this culture of fear.

Here are a list of some things that can kill you.  It is not exhaustive by far.

New carpet
New car smell
Laser printers
Fabric softerner
Bubble bath
Plastic bottles with BPA
Non-stick pans
Manufactured Orange Juice
Cans
Preservatives
Sharpies
Plastic ware with the numbers 3, 4 and 7
Styrofoam
Fish oil
Coffee
Red  Meat
Cell phones
Computers
Shampoo
Deodorant
Laundry Detergent
Viatmins
Rice
Grilled Food
Spray on sunscreen
Plastic baggies
Paint
Sunshine
Water (depending on your source)
Tea
Manufactured dyes
Microwaves
If that isn't enough for you, you need this book: The Complete Manual of Things that Might Kill You.


Why are we so willing to get worked up and fearful about everything?  I think it's because at the bottom of our hearts, we don't want to die.  Even Christians, who say to live is Christ and die is gain, are scared to the bottom of their socks to die.  We will grasp at anything that will stop us from dying and so we devour the news of what kills us so we can avoid it and not get killed.  Just let me live longer!

Basically, I think we are trying to do something to give us the illusion that we control death.  If I do this, I'll  beat that nasty Mr. Death at his own game.  Actually, I can go with that if you aren't a Christian.  If you think this is the only life you've got, sure, I can see why you would be compelled to do anything to go farther.  But if you are a Christian and you claim to believe the Bible, you have to deal with this verse: "Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them" (Ps. 139:16).  God knows all the days he has planned for us.  The Hebrew term for ordained relates to a potter fashioning a vessel.  God has shaped our lives and not only that, but the length of them.  He knows all the days for us.  What this means is that no matter how much I want to pretend I can somehow control my length of days, I can't.

Okay, so let's pretend by some miracle you are able to avoid all the things that can kill you except God.  You eat and drink all the right things, you avoid all the environmental hazards, and you even have managed to avoid all the natural hazards (sin can't stop me!)...and you are taking a walk through a forest and a branch falls on your head doing you in...or you swim in the ocean and a shark takes a bite...or a tornado comes sweeping down the plains and you're toast.

The fact is, our days are numbered whether we like it or not.  It's reality.  And when I look at how we Americans, and especially Christians, are spending the life God has given us in fear, it gets to me.  We are already dead if fear has taken control of us because if we operate in fear, we aren't living since we're avoiding most of what life has to offer.

Now to be clear, I don't think it is wrong to be healthy or be smart and avoid some stuff, but when it comes down to it, we won't be able to avoid everything that can kill us.  There are things in the natural environment that kill us.  This world is broken and it naturally produces things that over time kill us.  Even our bodies over time kill us.  We cannot get away from the fact we will die.  I recently read a comment on a blog that summed this up for me: "I'm a 'health nut' too, but unless you are living in an organic self sustaining commune, sleeping in a teepee made of animal skin, wearing all organic cotton or wool, naturally dyed clothing and put nothing on your skin, (which sounds like a delightful way to live to me!) you are absorbing harmful chemicals 24/7 from your environment."  I'd actually add that even if you did all those things, you would still be absorbing something from the air.

You know what I don't see in the Bible?  A command that we should sit around trying to figure out all that can kills us so that we can live longer.  Granted, people in Bible times lived in a very different world.  They may not have had (I'd say definitely didn't) most of the toxins we deal with today.  But then again, they died of ailments we have found treatments for.  We are living longer and better quality lives now than most of them ever did...and yet, our days are still numbered.

What is my charge here?  I implore Christians to not buy in to the culture of fear.  To not spend their time spreading the culture of fear.  To focus on bringing people to Christ more than worrying about what people put in their coffee.  You can tell someone all the things to do that won't kill them, but if you've never told them about Jesus, it won't make any difference at all.  And let's stop judging other Christians for lifestyle choices.  Let's stop haranguing people because they dare to eat or drink differently than us.  In essence, let's put our focus back where it belongs--on presenting and encouraging others with the gospel.  Because in the end, the gospel will be all that mattered all along.