The author, Dave Barry quipped “All of us are born with a set of instinctive fears—of the dark, of falling, of lobsters, of falling on lobsters in the dark, or speaking before a Rotary Club and of these words: ‘Some Assembly Required.’” We all have fears of something and that something changes as we age. What we were afraid of as a child was different than what we’re afraid of as a teenager and what we are afraid of as an adult; our fears may change from decade to decade.
I remember seeing a few scary shows when I was a youth. I especially remember one called ‘The Mummy.’ The mummy could hardly walk, dragging his foot behind him. I knew that he couldn’t even outrun me, an eleven year old. The movie was so fake, one minute the mummy was a block behind the fleeing victim, barely moving but somehow he kept gaining on the person running as fast as he could. The scary part was when he did catch his victim his hand would go around their throat. I thought, that’s too fake for me and I’m not sure that I ever saw another of those kind of movies. But, obviously, horror movies continue to be very popular based on the number being created and shown in theaters every day.
Fear comes in many forms. We have a friend who has a fear of flying and would rather spend four or five days in a car driving across the country than just a few hours in a plane. He is even aware that statistically his chances for a safe arrival are much higher by flying than it is by driving.
Fear of examinations has probably kept many bright young people out of college and the same fear has probably been the reason that many young people left or were expelled from college based on poor performance.
I remember as a young eleven or twelve year old boy just becoming interested in girls. My friends and I would go rollerskating at a local skating rink on Friday night and just before it was announced that it was ‘couples only’ we would go into the restroom and wet our hair down and then slick it back into a duck tail and push waves in the front. We would then dare each other to ask one of the girls to skate with us. In those days a dare was considered much like a life-or-death oath; if you didn’t accept a dare you were a real chicken. If you accepted and then didn’t follow through and fulfill that dare, you were a double chicken. I remember how fearful I was to approach a girl and have to ask her if she would skate with me. I remember my palms sweating and beads of sweat on my forehead. Why was it such a scary thing to ask a girl to roller skate with me? The fear of being rejected may be the most common fear of all. I was afraid that I would be rejected, a big loser if she turned me down. It is a universal fear that many people have of approaching another and asking for practically anything.
They say salesmen have the potential of making more money than practically all other vocations that a person can choose. Yet, most people loathe the idea of trying to sell something. There are always more salesman jobs advertised and available at any given time than any other. Why is that? Because most people are afraid of being rejected, turned down. Even knowing that the potential customer was rejecting the product, the salesman feels it was he who was being rejected. Yet it could have been their skill at selling that failed. Until the salesman has enough experience to become thick-skinned or to realize the rejection was nothing personal, selling will be a very difficult job. Even sixty five years later, I can still remember the feeling I had as a young suitor standing before the young lady in that roller skating rink trying to sell myself to fulfill a dare.
Many people fear leadership responsibilities because they are afraid of being responsible for the people they may be asked to lead, as well as the budget, the buildings and other material things that are assigned to that leadership position. As we mature and gain self confidence, many of the fears of youth or adulthood fears may fade away. A good mentor who guides young people or novices through the beginning stages of life and responsibility can help a great deal in reducing or alleviating fears. May we be blessed to be strong and confident in our God given human strengths and talents. The only way we will be able to contribute to society and adding to our talents is to use and maximize them. We can only do that when we over come our fears. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)