Fear Is A LieSample

“FEAR OF RIDICULE” Words are powerful. Like the tide coming in, they can lift us up, or like the tide going out, they can drag us down. Like a crane on a construction site, they can build us up, or like a bulldozer on a demolition site, they can break us down and destroy us. No matter how old we are or what profession or situation we are in, the words people speak over us affect us at some level or other. Right now we might be aware of some negative labels that have stuck with us, some names that have begun to define us and caused us to doubt what God has said about us through his Word. The fear of ridicule is fear of the destructive things people will say about us. From a few comments in the coffee area during our work-break to severe verbal bullying at school, we can’t control the words people say. But what we can control is the power we give those words over our lives. We can choose whether to allow those words to define us or not. The way to disarm a bully is to disallow their words to have any power over us. When it comes to facing the fear of ridicule, it comes down to a choice that each of us must make. In today’s passage the author of the Psalm makes the choice to trust in God rather than in ‘mere mortals,' i.e., other humans. The question is: Whose voice are you listening to? The voice of your creator or the voice of the crowd? We can listen to and agree with what the crowd says about us, or we can choose to accept what Christ says about us. We can listen to what social media says, or listen to what our Savior says. We can listen to the words of man, or listen to the Word of our Maker. Our Maker, our heavenly Father, says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made; that there is a plan and purpose for our life; and that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. Let’s allow these positive words to resonate deep in our heart and find agreement with them – and rather than falling into fear in the face of ridicule, we can then stand firm.