Should we batten down the hatches?

 About 30 years ago I remember hearing an advocate of positive thinking suggest that we shouldn’t watch and read the news as it would only ‘bring us down’.

With the range of disasters and tragedies in the news recently, it’s tempting to follow his advice – the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, the earthquake and storm in Haiti, the Plymouth shootings, the climate change report, wildfires, floods, heatwaves and the ongoing havoc wreaked by  COVID – it’s one disaster after another.  All this bad news can seem overwhelming and can add to a general sense of hopelessness that increases anxiety and shortens tempers. This in turn, can lead to tensions and conflict between family members, neighbours, work colleagues and more.

In the face of all this is, it’s tempting to follow the positive thinker’s advice and just switch off the news.  After all, much of it is so far away and there is so little that we can actually do about it that will make a difference.  Even the small actions we can take to donate money, reduce our carbon footprints, eliminate waste, etc. seem insignificant in the face of the large steps needed from governments.

We can feel powerless and it is tempting to batten down the hatches and ride out the storm… after all it can’t stay like this forever… can it?

It is tempting... but it would be just burying our heads in the sand.  The problems aren’t going away and if anything, they are getting worse.

So many of the problems we face are really just symptoms of far deeper issues.  The root of so many of the world’s problems are things like fear, ignorance, selfishness, greed and apathy. Those are the real root causes of so much of the tensions, violence and suffering in the world – even in preparing for and combatting effects of earthquakes, floods, etc.

And of these perhaps the main root cause is fear.  Fear of failure, fear of death, fear of appearing foolish, fear that our world view may be challenged, fear that our way of life may be affected, fear of change, fear that we may lose out, fear that we won’t have enough, fear that we won’t have our fair share, and more.

If we retreat from the problems, pretend they are not there, batten down the hatches, look inwards, protect our own interests, then things will only get worse.  Our own fear and selfishness just add to the problem.

So, what can we do? In the face of growing international political tensions and injustices, the natural disasters we see around the world, the effects of climate change and whatever personal challenges we are facing in life, how should we respond? 

The letters written by the church by the apostles make up the large majority of the books of the New Testament.  They are all written to churches that were facing persecution, tensions and even death.  These problems did not go away, if anything they just kept getting worse.

Despite this , the consistent message of the letters is not about hiding and protecting themselves, but about the need to love and forgive and serve.  About tackling the root causes of the problems in the world, and in particular fear. 

When St John wrote, ‘There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear’ (1 John 4:18), he did not mean mushy, sentimental love.  The Greek word he used for love is ‘agapé’, which is a sacrificial, giving love.  John, and other apostles, wrote to the persecuted and struggling churches of their day, urging them not to give in to fear, but to continue to love and serve those around them.

So, whist it may be tempting, if we hide from the troubles of the world, we become part of the problem.  However, if we take our eyes off ourselves, and look to love and forgive and serve those around us, then we become part of the solution to the root causes of the problems of our world.

Agapé loving is not a one off donation, but an ongoing desire, in the face of challenges, to help and serve.

No matter what our religious beliefs, and no matter how small the actions we take (phone calls, donations, organise/participate in events, give someone a good listening to, etc) when we ‘cast out fear’ by loving in this way, then we make a difference in our own lives, as well as the lives of others. 

So as we start a new academic year, in the midst of the challenges we all face, I pray that we would all take the opportunities to reach out and agapé love the world around us.

Rev Barry Jackson