Practicing and Preaching and Fear

“If mainstream Christianity has steadily lost force and credibility in the contemporary world…I wonder how much of this decline might be attributed to the fact that for so long now the means have not matched the ends. We preach one gospel and live another… the clash is accentuated in the security-obsessed consciousness of our own times. We preach the Good Samaritan and lock our church doors. We preach the lilies of the field and allocate large amounts of our monthly paychecks to pension and insurance plans.” Cynthia Bourgeault, Mystical Hope, Daily Quote, Inwardoutward.org, Church of the Saviour.

This is the old story of practicing what we preach. We talk one way, but act another. My experience is that much is unconscious. We see ourselves as good and caring people. We know a certain belief is part of our core value, but our society speaks against it or does not value it and gives us excuses or wiggle room so that we don’t have to follow through.

My own experience is that fear and scarcity zero-sum mentality is what most often keeps me from being this person God created me to be, acting on what I know at my core is true. We fear we will not have enough money. We fear that someone will break in and steal what we already have. We fear our health with fail. We fear we will be left alone and abandoned.

Being grateful, thankful for what we have is one of the best ways to journey out of a fear-based life. We have been given a daily reminder of how much we are cared for and loved. When I am most fearful, I rise early in the morning and watch the sunrise. Out of deep darkness comes overwhelming light. We are given a new day, a new start, each day. Out of the darkness comes resurrection.

Joanna joannaseibert.com