Some fears are healthy and...
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Some fears are healthy and lifesaving such as the fear of snakes or fear of walking on an interstate highway. The Proverb tells us the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fear can be a good guide when it leads us to God or wisdom or protection. But fear can also be destructive.
There is a legend that tells when the black plague was raging over the continent of Europe many years ago; the plague, disguised as a woman, came walking down the road one day on the way to a certain town she was going to visit. She stopped an old man and said to him, "Look, I'm hungry, and I want to make a deal with you. If you will give me some food, then, when I get to your town, I will take only five people." The old man thought this was a reasonable bargain, so he let her have the food.
A day or so later, he heard that not just five, but five hundred people had died in his town. When he saw the plague coming back toward him, he stopped her and said, "Look, you did not keep your part of the bargain." And she replied, "Yes, I did. I took only five people. The other 495 died from fear."
Fear can kill. Fear can save lives. But fear of the Lord can lead to wisdom.
There is a legend that tells when the black plague was raging over the continent of Europe many years ago; the plague, disguised as a woman, came walking down the road one day on the way to a certain town she was going to visit. She stopped an old man and said to him, "Look, I'm hungry, and I want to make a deal with you. If you will give me some food, then, when I get to your town, I will take only five people." The old man thought this was a reasonable bargain, so he let her have the food.
A day or so later, he heard that not just five, but five hundred people had died in his town. When he saw the plague coming back toward him, he stopped her and said, "Look, you did not keep your part of the bargain." And she replied, "Yes, I did. I took only five people. The other 495 died from fear."
Fear can kill. Fear can save lives. But fear of the Lord can lead to wisdom.
