Is fear rational?
Ok, ok, I know, that question has been asked and analyzed in countless volumes. Both inside and outside of the church, we have wondered about the rationality of our fears. This analysis has attempted to identify the root or source of fear in humanity, and it still a work that is left incomplete because fear is hard to come to grips with in totality. Yet we try to construct an answer about the rationality of fear. We take those conclusions and attempt to adopt them into our lives so that we can become more productive, but that is very challenging and often a work that takes a long period of time.
Now there is a reason that I do not touch a stove that is red on top. It is the same reason that I do not walk into on-coming traffic. The result will be some form of pain and as a human I have been trained to avoid painful stimulation. I fear them, and for good reason.
But what about the irrational fear? How does the irrational fears that I am confronted with affect my ability to engage my community or live faithfully? So let’s think about this for a moment together. . .
Last night, Luna wanted to chase one of her favorite toys around the house. This is a common behavior for her. So she trotted over to me and dropped it in my lap. She then took a few steps back, sat down, and waited with her ears up. Eyes beaming with anticipation. Muscles poised to fetch, Luna was ready to run, and she assumed that I was willing to play. As she sits there I am presented with a choice. . . And it is not the choice ’to play or not to play.’ She is a persistent girl.
Option 1: do I throw the toy down the steps while trying to avoid hitting the television? I have done this many times. I loop the toy over the TV and down the steps to the basement. She runs down both flights of steps. Runs back up them both. And after a few trips is a little tired and breathing harder. Yet this is a risky option to make. The risk is that I will indeed hit the TV, or the chandelier in the foyer, with the toy. (I may have hit both objects before much to Jennifer’s annoyance). So that is not an ideal choice.
Option 2: do I throw the toy down the hall with my left hand because the angle is better? Now of course, I could as I said before resist her pleading to throw the toy, but she will literally sit there for hours waiting. She walks over picks it up and sets it back down until I relent. So I throw the toy down the hall and she scampers after it gleefully. But I am not left-handed. So occasionally the throw goes off course and it hits the closet door, or the wall, or worse the toy can go into the kitchen.
If by chance the toy goes into the kitchen, we have big problem. Panic will set in for Luna if this happens. If her favorite toy crosses the threshold of the kitchen it may just come into contact with the most dreaded of all kitchen items: the broom! (Insert scary music)
That cannot happen. . .
Jennifer and I have a blue broom that sits next to the refrigerator. We use it to sweep up regularly in the kitchen. But if one of Luna's toy hits the scary broom, she will back up suddenly. Tail between her legs and crouch down defensively. Slowly she will creep toward her nemesis and gently pick up the toy and then back out of the kitchen with the same level of care and obvious fear. I mean seriously, who is not afraid of a blue kitchen broom!!! The answer of course is no rational human is afraid of a broom like this, but Luna is.
You see the broom has fallen over before when the toy strikes it. When it does that broom makes a loud crashing sound and that is enough to scare a 70 pound German Shepard away. Luna is afraid of the broom and what it represents. For two days her ‘monkey’ has been laying under a couple of the broom bristles and she won’t risk picking it up. It seems that all hope has been lost to save monkey from a fate worse than death—the broom. (All hope is indeed lost, until I sweep the kitchen and monkey is freed). When I need the broom to sweep off the porch, I carry it in front of me so Luna won’t push past me to go outside and chase her stick. And this work every, single time.
Her fear is completely and totally irrational. There is no conceivable reason why Luan should be scared of the broom. But yet she is afraid. It has altered how she interacts with that corner of the house ad how she does something that she loves to do. If the broom is left in the foyer after sweeping the porch, Luna has a hard time walking past it to go outside. She is afraid and it affects her life completely.
So as I watched this scene unfold in front of me last night, I wondered about the places in my Christian walk where I have irrationally placed roadblocks in front of me? I wondered about the things that I have experienced that limit me as Luna is limited by the broom?
I have my own big, scary broom, and I wonder how will I engage those fears today? I wonder what exists in your life that limits how you life faithfully? Could it be as easy to address as a kitchen broom?
Blessings
Rev. Derek
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