Do not fear. This is the message around the birth of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. Throughout his ministry and the Bible, we hear that refrain in multiple ways. Do Not Fear! But, why? Because fearful people do not act well and can be manipulated easily.
Those who peddle fear and lies do a disservice to our society, and it harms us as human beings. Research shows that we are a more fearful society than we have been for many years. This is dangerous because long-term fear is harmful to our health. It turns out that neuroscientists are looking closely at this, and the bad news is that fear is killing us. When something causes us fear – it may be low-grade or acute – what happens is that our physical body reacts even if we show nothing externally. We feel dread, anxiety, and panic. Our hearts race, our breathing quickens, and our muscles tense up. Our bodies go into fight-or-flight mode, ready to do everything it can to make us safe.
According to research out of the University of Minnesota, “Once the fear pathways are ramped up, the brain short-circuits more rational processing paths and reacts immediately to signals from the amygdala. When in this overactive state, the brain perceives events as negative and remembers them that way.” The brain stores all the details from that particular stimulus — time of day, images, sounds, smells, weather, etc. — in your long-term memory. While that makes the memory “very durable, [it] may also be fragmented,” triggering the full gamut of physical and emotional responses every single time a similar fear stimulus shows up. That’s what’s known as fear conditioning. As the researchers explain:
Later, the sights, sounds, and other contextual details of the event can become stimuli themselves and trigger fear. They may bring back the memory of the fearful event, or they may cause us to feel afraid without consciously knowing why. Because these cues were associated with previous danger, the brain may see them as a predictor of threat.
Long-term fear will cause harm to our memory and our perception of reality.
To someone in chronic fear, the world looks scary, and their memories confirm that. Moreover, fear can interrupt processes in our brains that allow us to regulate emotions, read non-verbal cues and other information presented to us, reflect before acting, and act ethically. This impacts our thinking and decision-making in negative ways, leaving us susceptible to intense emotions and impulsive reactions.
The research makes my point that fearful people do not act well. Those who peddle fear and lies often do so to manipulate and control people. This is why I believe that the message not to fear is so important. It is not because there is nothing to fear, it is because when we allow fear to drive our decision making it will harm us personally and collectively. Fear will cause a multitude of community-killing activities. When we are fearful of our neighbors, it is impossible to be about the ministry of Jesus.
Jesus lived with people who knew fear, of Rome, of loss of daily bread, of tax burdens, and of shortened lives. Jesus too knew how those in power use fear to manipulate the population. But the good news is that there are ways to counter our fears. Jesus does not simply say, “Do not fear.” He invites people to challenge that fear by living with one another in new ways.
When Jesus calls the disciples and sends them out, he sends them out with the call to heal, teach, and learn the ways of hospitality. The call to follow Jesus is the antidote to being manipulated by our fears. And, in the days following the election, our call to follow Jesus does not change but becomes more important. We are called not to fear, and we are called to make sure that no one lives in fear. The heart of our faith is simple, if not easy. We are called to love God and love our neighbor. We show our love of God in the way we love our neighbor. But, if we act out of fear, our way will not be love. So, friends, in the coming days, no matter what comes our way, choose love – love of neighbor, love of justice, and love of truth. And no matter what the peddlers of fear may be selling, it has nothing to do with the love of God we know through Jesus Christ.
Rev. Dr. Mark Miller
Member at Large
https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/impact-fear-and-anxiety
https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/what-fear-does-to-your-brain-and-how-to-stop-it/
