What is more contagious than COVID-19?
Fear.
In the U.S., “anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year.”[1] But diagnoses aside, the fact is: Everyone’s afraid of something.
A recent study listed these ten subjects that people fear most:
“1. Snakes: 51%
2. Heights: 38%
3. The dentist: 23%
4. Confined spaces, a.k.a. claustrophobia: 21%
5. Needles: 21%
6. Clowns: 18%
7. Public speaking: 17%
8. The dark: 15%
9. Flying: 14%
10. Birds: 5%”[2]
But 2020 is starting out with a new global fear as news organizations capitalize on people’s propensity to fear the unknown by releasing headlines such as:
“A global coronavirus: Travel bans, face masks, and fear” — CNN[3]
As Citigroup analysts observed:
“Fear of the virus is spreading throughout the country, at a much faster rate than the virus itself.”[4]
John Adams understood the fear contagion, declaring:
“Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men in whose breasts it predominates so stupid and miserable, that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it.”[5]
Faith has always been God’s antidote to fear.
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27 NASB).
People of faith know “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). We need not fear disease, death or anything that happens to make or not make the top 10 list of fears. Instead, we should “say to those with anxious hearts, ‘Take courage, fear not’” (Isaiah 35:4 NASB) for “God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7 NASB).
Without fear driving our actions, we can take rational steps to protect ourselves and our family, and do what we can to help those in need.
Governments around the world are struggling to find solutions to the epidemic of COVID-19, but this is not a surprise for the Supreme Ruler of the universe. As with every major crisis, our ultimate hope is not in our own strength or knowledge, it is in the mercy and grace of our loving heavenly Father.
President Abraham Lincoln understood this important principle. After the first few months of the Civil War he reminded Congress: “Having thus chosen our course...without guile and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear…”[6]
Foundations of Truth hereby waives all claim of copyright (economic and moral) in this work and immediately places it in the public domain; it may be used, published, edited, and distributed in any manner whatsoever without any attribution or notice to Foundations of Truth.
[1] Facts & statistics: Did you know? Retrieved from https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics [2] America’s top ten fears (and Deb’s is not on the list). (2019, January 29). Retrieved from https://www.wfms.com/2019/01/29/americas-top-ten-fears-and-debs-is-not-on-the-list/ [3] Yeung, J. (2020, February 27).A global coronavirus: Travel bans, face masks, and fear. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/27/world/gallery/coronavirus-prevention/index.html [4] Ip, G. (2020, February 24). Fear of Coronavirus, rather than virus itself, hits economies: Estimates of the epidemic’s impact on the global economy are largely educated guesses. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/fear-of-coronavirus-rather-than-virus-itself-hits-economies-11582589904 [5] Adams, J. (1776). Thoughts on government. Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/inde/upload/Thoughts-on-Government-John-Adams-2.pdf [6] Lincoln, A. (1861, July 4). Message to Congress convened in special session. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=0cM6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA339&lpg=PA339&dq=July+4,+1861+without+guile+and+with+pure+purpose,+let+us+renew+our+trust+in+God,+and+go+forward+without+fear+lincoln&source=bl&ots=vou-ripffO&sig=ACfU3U33bFXewF0nXiOavh2KbnPwJMHu5w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjoqfWV4fLnAhXTvp4KHc0oAcMQ6AEwEXoECAgQAQ#v=snippet&q=without%20fear&f=false
