Fear is a kind of mesmerizing truth that secretly consoles our inner beasts. How we choose to serve one another’s beasts ultimately shows how we satisfy our own. Deep down in everyone’s heart lies the tiny box where we all store away everything that makes us human. The darker ones of us only play show and tell with our box when we need to assure the rest of the world that we are worth something more than just the villainous masks we wear.
But here’s the real question: Why do we fear?
What do our fears revolve around? The answer is in plain sight.
The things we love.
Our fears always have been and always will be fueled by the things we love. Losing a loved one, being forgotten by our friends or failing at the hobbies we love the most. Loving is essentially our greatest weakness, but what an advantage that is! The greatest thing we have to worry about is the thing everyone seeks the most. Clever is the creator who decided that our weakness will forever be loving the things of the world. But how hard is it to cease all emotions you have towards a certain person or thing? Nearly impossible!
But here's the catch. Destruction often is the result of many fears. Whether of ourselves or the things around us, the demise of our strong will and emotions will slowly tread into our paths. They are too much for our boxes, so our inner beasts must eventually take over and remove the contents that overflows our box of humanity.
"We destroy the things we fear; sometimes, some of us are afraid of love, afraid that it leaves us vulnerable, exposed and open, afraid that it may destroy us, and so we destroy instead." —Daniel Saint
Love. That is the reason some are so independent and self-reliant. Fear comes from love, so why bother loving something if it will only bring you fear and pain?Is love worth the fear and pain? Some would argue that loving anyone or anything is just a waste of time. Saving your time and energy is worth much more than tying yourself down to the pain of this world that love causes.
Yes, the pain that binds us to love is also connected to our fears—the worst of our nightmares. Facing our nightmares though, our greatest demons, will bring out the real love of the world. The contents of our boxes that we all hide away in our heart. Unraveling the strings that tie us down and thread all of us together will eventually unite us all in our fears and aid us in mending one another's fears.
So again I say, love is everything we have to fear, but if that is truly our greatest weakness, what else must we fear?
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love."
1 John 4:18 (ESV)