what are you afraid of?

As I have watched my children grow, I have realized the one thing that paralyzes them more than any thing else. It isn't getting hurt, either physically or emotionally, but the fear of getting hurt. The funny thing is that it is the thought of the pain versus the reality of the pain that cripples them more than anything.

We live in a world that pounces on our fear. I would even say that fear is the motivating factor behind many of our own behaviors. So what are these fears? Here are a few I can think of off the top of my head: fear of failure, fear of getting hurt physically, fear of emotional hurt, fear of rejection, fear of embarrassment, fear of not being good enough, fear of growing old, fear of dying, fear of death, fear of getting sick, fear of being too loud, fear of not being loud enough, fear of offending, fear of being accused of something we are not, fear of ridicule, fear of being different, fear of not belonging, and oh so many more. These fears will cripple us faster than anything else, especially when it comes to sharing the gospel.

Think about how many things in your own life you don't do out of fear. Or think about how many things you do out of fear. Are we teaching our children to live a life of boldness or are we teaching them to live in fear? What kind of life are we modeling for them? When my children get hurt, and they will get hurt, I want them to be able to move beyond it, not to live in the fear that it might happen again.

I am seeing evidence of this "living by fear" in my own life. I don't want this. I want boldness. I don't want recklessness. I want boldness to live a life of no fear. Think of how much we are missing out on because we live in fear. Think of how many friendships we are missing because of fear. Think of how many opportunities we are missing to share the gospel because of fear. Think of how many times we are not being bold for Christ because of fear. It isn't fear that advances the gospel. It is boldness.

I don't know about you but I want to stop living a life of fear and live a life of boldness.