By the 1930s, Nazism in Germany was on the rise. German citizens, filled with fear, searched for answers to the economic turmoil, and blame shifting was common on the heels of Germany’s defeat in World War I. Adolf Hitler capitalized on that fear and orchestrated what he and his followers called “The Big Lie.” Hitler argued that no matter how big the lie is, people will believe it if you repeat it enough. He accused the Jews of using this tactic, and yet, ironically, it was the very strategy that he used to manipulate millions of people into hating and attacking their fellow man.
Famous children’s storybook writer, Rudyard Kipling, once said, “Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are our own fears.”
Personifying fear can help us understand what it is and how to avoid it. Fear is like the school bully—he finds out what makes you squirm, and then he plays on that fear day by day until you are miserable. Fear can fill you with irrational anger, uninvited stress, deep depression, or feelings of hopelessness. But, most of all, fear is a liar.
Let’s look at what fear says in contrast to what God says in Scripture:
Fear says you are an ugly mistake, but God says you are beautiful and made in His image (Ps. 139:14-17). Fear says you are defined by your past, but God says you are defined by your new life in Jesus (Rom. 6:4-7). Fear says you don’t belong, but God says you are chosen and accepted (Eph. 1:4-6). Fear says you’re not worth much, but God says you were bought with the precious blood of Jesus (1 Pet. 1:18-19). How different life can be when we stopbelieving words like failure, hopeless, outcast, rejected and start listening to words like redeemed, forgiven, accepted, loved, secured.
So . . . who are you listening to today—fear or God? God will tell you the truth, but fear is a liar.