Tag Archives: fear

Faith, Uncategorized

The Hunger Games meets Screwtape

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“Gratitude looks to the Past and love to the Present; fear… looks ahead.”  Screwtape

The Hunger Games and Screwtape

Max McLean as C.S. Lewis' "Screwtape"

Recently I saw an amazing performance of the classic C.S. Lewis novel, The Screwtape Letters. The play, brilliantly performed by award winning actor Max McLean, follows the schemes and thinking of a demon named Screwtape. The story is based on a view of spiritual warfare from a Hell’s point of view as told to a Junior Devil.

So, a few days later as I sat in the movie theater watching The Hunger Games, I was thinking of the psychology of evil. More particularly, the lies and temptations wrought by the Evil One.  I couldn’t help but view President Snow as the Devil himself, a schemer.

The strategy of Screwtape and the artfully manipulative plans of President Snow seemed eerily similar. Much as Screwtape offered careful advice to his protégé, Wormwood, so too we see President Snow mentoring his henchman, Seneca. In a scene that was particularly “Screwtape-ish” we hear the genius of evil:

“…why do we have a winner?” President Snow asks Seneca.  Then Snow answers his own question, “Hope.”

“Hope?” Seneca replies slightly bewildered.

“Hope, it is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective, a lot of hope is dangerous,” Snow declares.

“Spark is fine, as long as it’s contained. So, contain it,” Snow warns.

I wanted to stand up during the movie and yell, “Did you hear that!”

I wanted to stop the movie and talk about hope and fear. Moreover, I wanted to yell at the Devil and say, “You can’t contain it!  You tried. You scattered the followers of Jesus Christ and watched them hide in fear on that dark Friday. You laughed when they brutally executed Him and put Him in a tomb. Ha! You thought you had contained Hope. You lose!” Continue reading The Hunger Games meets Screwtape →

Faith

Rock & Hard Place (sea & sword)

“Why did we stop?”

“I don’t know, I can’t see around the camel.”

“I thought I saw boiling dust coming up from those hills behind us.”

"I changed my mind."

“Oh great! I saw it too. You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Yes, it’s Pharaoh and his army!”

“He changed his mind, they’re not going to let us go after all.”

“What’s Moses doing?”

“He’s just standing there.”

“What?”

“Word just came from the front. They said the Red Sea has blocked our escape.”

“Oh, great job Moses, just great!!!”

“Hey, don’t be so hard on Moses, he’s been following God.”

“You’re telling me that after all it took to get us out of there, God brought put us here?”

“Well, Moses  does seem to have the Lord’s help and…”

 “LOOK! It IS Pharaoh! They appear to have their swords drawn.”

“You can see that from here?”

“I know I saw something shiney.”

“This stinks!”

Stuck on the shore --- that's how I feel sometimes

The Shore, the Sea, and the Sword
Recently I read a little book* that looks at God’s People as they encounter the Red Sea. The book, along with a lot of Scripture reading, meditation, and prayer, has caused me to think a lot about my anxieties and doubts. Often I feel as though I’m trapped that the shore (my circumstances) and things aren’t looking too good. I am praying that I learn to better apply Truth to my circumstances.
TRUTH:  God is good and I can trust Him; I’m always going to be fine resting in His care.
The application of truth to circumstances is the practice of faith.  I’m not talking about faith in faith, that place too many televangelists tend to abide. I’m talking about Continue reading Rock & Hard Place (sea & sword) →

Man Cave

Real Men and Fear

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I’m afraid…

I’m afraid my daughter might grow up not realizing how much I treasure her. I’m afraid my wife might not know how much I really love her. I’m afraid I will get to the end of my life and realize that I’ve wasted many of my days chasing things that don’t matter. I’m afraid of insignificance. I’m afraid of not being awesome at everything I attempt. I’m afraid of people who would do me and my family harm with no concern whatsoever to the consequence of their actions. I’m afraid of the consequences of some of my actions. I’m afraid of getting passed over and left behind. I’m afraid my life doesn’t matter and my contributions aren’t significant. I’m afraid of getting cancer and dying before I’ve lived the life I always imagined for myself. I’m afraid of knives and guns. I’m afraid of not being liked. I’m afraid of snakes and poisonous spiders and velociraptors… yeah I went there. You would too if you happened to be a child the first time you saw Jurassic Park… those terrible bird-like buggers are some nasty creatures.

I’m afraid of all those things and more, but I don’t let fear paralyze me.

A real man knows that he’ll always have fear. No matter what he does or who he is, there will always be some things that cause him fear. And he’s OK with that because a real man knows how to experience his fear.

He doesn’t shy away from fear. In fact, he doesn’t even try to resist it. He wants to experience the feeling of his fear fully. He acknowledges the presence of fear and seeks to understand its cause. He knows that fear, much like happiness or anger or any other fleeting emotion is just that… a fleeting emotion.

A real man stares fear right in the face, tries to understand it for what it truly is, and then he acts. Continue reading Real Men and Fear →

Faith, Man Cave

Staring Fear in the Face

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I am not a risk taker.

I am Conservative Guy.  I am Mr. Play it Safe.

It’s to the point that I won’t even try new foods.  The other night someone offered me some asparagus.  I have no idea if I’ve ever had asparagus and I promise you I couldn’t tell you what asparagus tastes like.  I said, “No thanks, I don’t like asparagus.”

Not true.  To dislike something you have to try it first.

When I go to the grocery store I buy the same products every single time.  I even have my routine down.  It begins with the soap and contact lens cleaner, moves on to bread, frozen dinner section, cereal aisle, produce, beverages, meat, see you later.  There is never a variation.

Okay, sometimes I do it backwards, but that’s only if I’m feeling dangerous.

Food is only one example.  Growing up, all I ever wanted was to become a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys.  I watched my ‘Boys every Sunday and dreamed of someday catching passes on the Texas Stadium turf.

My first chance to play real football came in seventh grade.  The gear was sweet.  I had never worn actual shoulder pads or buttoned up the chinstrap on my own helmet.  I took it all home, put on the uniform and went straight to the mirror.

Continue reading Staring Fear in the Face →