There is an old European folk tale which revolves around the story of a chicken, Henny Penny, who believes that the world is coming to an end. The fear is spread amongst numerous animals until there is a “mass hysteria”. One of the characters is a fox who seizes upon this frenzied group of animals and leads them to its lair where they are summarily eaten by the family of foxes waiting for this hysterical bunch. The tale comes to America in the story of Chicken Little, who is hit on the head by an acorn, and then creates panic by telling everyone, “The sky is falling”. The dictionary describes a “Chicken Little” as “a person who constantly warns that a calamity is imminent; a vociferous pessimist”. Another defines it as, “A person who panics easily, or spreads alarm amongst others”. The story is the perpetual playbook of politics. Create widespread fear over an issue or a person and then promise to battle it. It has been around since democracy has existed. It stays around because it works.
How many times have you heard, “This is the election of a lifetime” -or- “If we don’t win this election it will set us back a generation”? Who really knows if those statements are true, but it solicits a fear which can be leveraged for the fear-mongers purposes. Beyond that, to be continually motivated and enflamed by fear is to create a stronghold in a person’s mentality which avoids obedience until one senses or feels the fear.
Are there things of which we should be concerned in the arena of government and public policy? Most certainly. Laws have personal impact in numerous ways. God also judges nations with the standard of how they honor and respond to Him by way of public policy. My own participation in defeating a constitutional amendment to Florida’s constitution allowing unfettered abortion rights is one such example of a legitimate and generational concern. Why? Because if we enshrine immoral and unjust laws into a constitution, we will face corporate judgment and discipline. Human beings made in God’s image would be murdered. This amendment definitively opened the door to that reality. Again, that should be of concern. But that is a different fear than the story of Chicken Little. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). The fear of the folk tale is a hysteria which manifests in silly people. It is a fear used to manipulate and move others. It is a fear which tries to force us out of careful application of God’s ways and precepts. It is a fear that asks us to suspend our discernment. It is a fear to create paths and pragmatisms that actually violate His Word. God has not given us a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7). Therefore, we should discern the fear which is being heralded and first be sure it is a legitimate concern. Then, rebuke any fear which leverages us away from obedience, allegiance, and fidelity to the Lord instantly and our eyes should be returned to Him and His Word. We need to ask the question, “What would be the Lord’s way of addressing this moment”, rather than, “What can I do to establish my own peace and provision”. Remember, it is, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6).
- “Not by Might”: Refers to collective strength, armies, or vast resources; human efforts alone are insufficient.
- “Nor by Power”: Refers to individual strength, cleverness, or authority; worldly success isn’t guaranteed by these.
- “But by My Spirit”: Success comes through God’s empowering presence through faithful obedience, enabling people to overcome obstacles.
This unrighteous fear is the dynamic which consistently leads us away from obedience to God’s Word and precepts. We begin to think, that if a fear is announced on the horizon of public policy, that provides the escape clause from righteous expectations or obedience. If we believe the political “sky is falling”, be it only an acorn of a problem or an asteroid, we feel we are released to do “what is right in our own eyes”. Especially when it comes to how we vote and how we incrementally approach public policy. We allow our fears of “what if”, to circumvent our obedience and we begin to take actions which we believe will “help God out at the moment”, because our faith isn’t convinced that our needed outcome will be secured by our obedience alone. We quite literally become, “wise in our own eyes” (Proverbs 3:7, 12:15, 26:12; Isaiah 5:21). This has caused political engagement by self-identified, Bible-believing Christians to look eerily similar to those who hold other anti-biblical worldviews.
I would suggest, for the Christian, obedience to God’s Word rather than a fear which leads to humanistic pragmatism, is the highest priority. We must obey God and leave the results to Him. To disobey the Lord in order to avoid an uncomfortable repercussion and THEN suggest you are doing the Lord’s Will, is at best convoluted and at worst divination. It is the presumption of King Saul. It really does become, “the end justifying the means”.
See you soon as we continue to lay some important engagement foundation…
No Comments