Fearless is not the absence of fear. Fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you. – Taylor Swift
You know, if I looked like Taylor Swift and had her talent, I can’t imagine being afraid of anything, can you? I’m encouraged to know that she feels afraid once in a while like the rest of us – just sayin’…
There are certain real dangers and situations in life that we need to fear. I don’t roller skate down the sidewalk after dark because it may not be safe. We know that bad things sadly can happen in the daytime, but chances are, if you’re going to be outside, being out during the day is probably a better plan.
Rational fear is one thing, but when irrational fear gets ahold of us, it’s something we need to ask God to help us overcome. For some reason, God wanted me to hear a few things about fear today. Here are a few examples:
I counted 15 separate advertisements for pharmaceuticals. The drug companies have nearly taken over ad time on every cable network on television. They want us to ask our doctor about a certain drug because… oooooh – we may not be our very best without it.
They work the fear factor… sometimes to the point of exploitation in my opinion. They’re so good at it! If you’re a baby boomer, you really should be tested for Hep C because oh my… you may need this vaccination. Well, for years it’s not been prevalent and I don’t suspect it is now – but the drug ads put that doubt in our minds – that fear – that maybe, just maybe… and speaking as a baby boomer, we’re not the most secure about health issues to begin with. Seems a lot of things are falling apart… so – these ads just want to make that a little worse for us so we’ll pay out $$$ for meds that we may or may not need.
And many pills would make all our lives better – better shapes with diet pills and better sex lives with other pills. Make sure you don’t get them confused. If you have a double chin, you’d probably better get that treatment done that will give you a better profile – even though there’s a laundry list of possible side-effects that would be way worse than having a double chin.
You do know it’s all about the bottom line, right? But they play on our low self-esteem… our fear of rejection from others. It’s true!
The big pharma is making big bucks because we let them work on our fears (some rational but many irrational) – fear of not only sickness, but a less than perfect profile or imperfect skin. Some diseases have to be treated with medication, but most of the advertisements for drugs and treatments are an attempt to make us feel as though we need whatever it is they are peddling in order to look or feel better.
Would Sero-Vital make me look and feel 20 years old? I imagine at over $100 a pop, it would more than likely land me in the poor house – but hey, I’d look and feel better, eh?
I like to watch Joseph Prince and enjoy his sermons. I already had this thought about the drug ads running around in my mind – and what do you think he’s talking about? Yep – he was talking about FEAR.
Babies are born with only two fears. 1) A fear of falling down and 2) A fear of loud noises. Every other fear is learned. – Joseph Prince
He emphasized the fact that medical and psychological experts have said this. Then He shared the text:
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. – 2 Timothy 1:7
Ah ha! Fear is a spirit – a wicked, evil, paralyzing spirit that we can either choose to give attention to – or not. The spirit God gave us is one of power, love and a sound mind. He wants us to have a mind free of irrational fears. How cool if we’d face our fears with bigger faith given to us from God’s Holy Spirit. Yes… we WILL overcome! 🙂
HEART HUNGER 