This week’s Truth Keepers for Truth Seekers column is about is about man’s deadliest enemies—the fear or phobia of the unknown and not knowing the cause.
If your eye fell on this column once again, count yourself one step closer to a victory you didn’t even know you needed.
Have you recognised your greatest enemy? It is not who you think. It is not those that are above you in any form or position. It is not the darkness that we face each night. It is not the person you rather not meet and it is not some unidentified flying object (UFO).
It is fear or phobia of the unknown, not knowing the cause, and not knowing what to do about it.
While it's impossible to pinpoint an exact number, there are likely hundreds, if not thousands, of recognised phobias, with many more existing as unique, individual fears. Phobias are categorised into three main types: agoraphobia, social phobia, and specific phobias. Specific phobias, which are fears of specific objects or situations, can potentially be associated with anything, making the total number of phobias vast and potentially limitless. Here a possible breakdown of phobias.
· Agoraphobia: Fear of public spaces or situations where escape might be difficult.
· Social Phobia: Fear of social situations and interactions.
· Specific Phobias: Fear of a specific object or situation, like heights, spiders, or flying. These can be categorised further.
When it comes to teaching children, one of the most important values to teach in life is to “Fear not” – a huge challenge in today’s society. Who should be teaching that? The no. 1 set of people who should be teaching them is their own parents at home. Sad to say most homes these days are fatherless in some way, not because the real father died, but because the real father is absent.
Fatherlessness is not only the absence of a father. It is also created by a father’s abuse, neglect, and various other dysfunctions in the home. No-show father (the unknown man who impregnated the mother and then disappeared), abusive fathering-neglectful fathering-emotionally disconnected fathering-micro-managing fathering (he holds you under his thumb and does not put you on his shoulders)-seasonal fathering (the guy who is only a good father during holidays when he does not carry his ‘office’ stress)-authoritarian fathering-ignorant fathering (the man who was never trained to be a father and is therefore ignorant of his children’s needs)-mothering fathering (when fathers are mothering their children instead of fathering them)-divorced fathering.
We will get into that in another article, but the root cause is because those fathers did not teach them what they should have been teaching them. Those fathers forgot God, their Creator. Over 90% of crimes, burglaries, rapes, drunkenness, offences against families are by men. All that is resulting in suicides, divorce, juvenile delinquency, behavioural problems in children; many kids not finishing their school.
From a young age, children can be taught faith instead of fear. Faith in what? Faith in Someone they can trust and always call out to in good and bad times. The one to reflect the Heavenly Father is their earthly father. With a Heavenly Father, I do not mean a Being they have to try to please and whose wrath has to be satisfied by some action or deed of them.
They should grow up in an environment where they feel secure and safe. They should be able to go to schools and colleges where there are teachers they can trust, villages and homes where it is safe to take a walk.
If not, fear will develop in them from a young age and if not taken care of, in their fears, respond in ways that can become a threat to themselves and/ or society. A bully, young or old is nothing more than a person who has fears inside but trying to show that in their “bully way”.
The Bible- the Holy Scriptures is one of the most controversial books. It is also the most sold out book. It is a book men tried to burn many times. However, it has been preserved for thousands of years and stayed unchanged in its fundamental truths. In this book, it was prophesied 2000 plus years ago that: “there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth [there will be] distress (trouble and anguish) of nations in bewilderment and perplexity [without resources, left wanting, embarrassed, in doubt, not knowing which way to turn] at the roaring (the echo) of the tossing of the sea, men swooning (fainting) away or expiring with fear and dread and apprehension and expectation of the things that are coming on the world; for the [very] powers of the heavens will be shaken and caused to totter (shake).”
This could have been some headlines in today’s social media or newspaper.
SIGNS IN THE SUN AND MOON AND STARS, ON THE EARTH DISTRESS AND ANXIETY AMONG THE NATIONS, THE SEAS ROARING WITH ROLLING SURGES; MEN DYING OF HEART ATTACKS FROM FEAR AND DREAD OF THE THINGS THAT ARE COMING ON THE WHOLE WORLD; THE POWERS OF HEAVEN ARE AND SHALL BE SHAKEN.
What is the root cause of this fear and dread of things?
It is written in the continuation of the text of last week: The book of Romans (Chapter 1: 28- 32) from the Bible. It is people not wanting to acknowledge there is a God and they are not it. Rather they are responsible to that God and are accountable to Him now and one day will be held accountable for all they did in their lives while on this earth. The books will be opened and reconciled with His books for all they were given stewardship over. That means everything that they think belongs to them on this earth. Wake up! we are just temporary stewards over land, seas, people and things. All of that is meant to share with those who have less or none. Meant to be taught and lovingly cared for when it comes to children and people and meant to use for His Kingdom and people when it comes to land and things.
The result of not wanting to even think about God or acknowledge Him was this:
“People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking. And so they do what they should not do.”
And what is the result of that?
“They are filled with every kind of sin, evil, greed, and hatred. They are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, lying, and thinking the worst things about each other. They gossip and say evil things about each other. They hate God. They are rude, proud, and brag about themselves. They invent ways of doing evil. They don't obey their parents, they are foolish, they don't keep their promises, and they show no kindness or mercy to others. They know God's law says that anyone who lives like that should die. But they not only continue to do these things themselves, but they also encourage others who do them.
The last 2 lines say it even better like this: They were without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless and merciless. Though they are fully aware of God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them themselves but approve and applaud others who practice them.
Are we going to give up? Or roll up our sleeves, become the fathers, mothers and teachers we need to be and acknowledge we better start saying “yes” to the One who created us? He created us for a good reason. A self sacrificial Supernatural Being, pure love, the Only and One God, decided He wanted to share that true love on us human beings and so created us to share back with Him and each other in the same way and live a life without fear.
Let’s get back to what we were created for.
Eventually, it will be like that again. Meanwhile, let’s work with and for Him. Not against Him.
That will be true peace, love and faith. I know you will want that.
Don’t pass the buck. It starts with you!
Blessings
Akhrienuo