2 Tim. 1:7--For the Spirit of God does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self discipline. It seems all around us fear is being peddled to the masses. Movies are increasingly about zombies, EMP's crippling society, environmental disasters, and wars that kill of humanity. It wasn't long ago stories of courage, teamwork, and inspiration were common across our land. Why the change? As always, its critical to look at society with a faith eye and filter what we see and hear through the Word of God.

There is an ideology in society that is eroding the mental health and dominating the news and cultural rhythms. Depression rates amongst those who see the world in fearful terms is high with places like Columbia University studying the trend of fear, mental health and liberalism. This ideology recruits, overgeneralizes, and politicizes personal traumas. Things like Critical Race Theory, Gender discrimination, racism, and hate crimes all focus on traumas and unfairness of life; which is opposite of good biblical counseling and what good psychologists do. These are all newer terms to label others and cause fear, the Bible has one term for hurting others and that is sin. 

If we see life as so unfair instead of realizing what has made this country so great is its giving nature around the world and each individual's ability to succeed by overcoming odds it would lead to less mental health issues and depression. Every people group or nation state has committed war, slavery, and violence against other nations and sometimes its own people. Ever since the Fall in the Garden nothing is new under the sun. (Eccl. 1:9)

Selling fear keeps many in office as well as divides peopleagainst each other out of fear and suspicion. To keep a message of unfairness on a continuous cultural loop then the people are encouraged to look to authority to protect them and punish others. Yes there is inequality and it will always exist due to sin but there in no government solution evidenced by decades of trying to eradicate poverty or war. 

Christ followers know the solution, His name is Jesus and the hope we have in Him is that He has overcome this world. (Jn 16:33).  To ignore the Gospel is to ignore the only freedom that is real. The common practice is to open with stories of despair, uncertainty and uphill challenges so that we relate as victims against a system that will always hold us down. There is not a person alive who has not been mistreated, misunderstood, and even persecuted, but what is for certain those who love and obey Jesus are not victims. Jesus has won our victory and in Him we are conquerors and not victims. (Rom. 8:31-39) He doesn't promise us problem-free lives, but He will be with us through the storms. There is nothing anyone can do to us unless it is willed by God for our greater good. The ideology that has gripped the masses is things are bad, have always been bad, and we need to join together in bitter resentment and make things right through riots, protest, blogs, taking from others and social upheaval. But what if, what if the world could come to know that they can be free of fear, shame, guilt, and reach new heights? What could that person strive to do to help others, make positive change, and release people from constant mental defeat? Predominant leftist ideologies see humanity as mainly oppressed and it strives to say that it is truly empathetic so everyone must be made low to make things right. It is a chronic state of fear that replaces the Good New of Jesus with the need for bigger authoritarian corrections to equalize the trauma. Socialism tendencies are growing in the youth because they are ignorant of the fact that marxism, communism, and socialism always fail, cause scarcity, and empower a very few. Our current system of free market and freedoms has produced more wealth and good for the globe, but it is buried under the injustices that have more to do with sin and not our republic. 

God commands us to fear not over a hundred times in the Scriptures. God is pro-justice, pro-fearlessness, and we should be as well. Society shouldn't generate more trauma and generalize everyone into painful experiences, but it was designed by God to free us to be in relationship with Him. There are many claiming or pretending to set things right through justice, but in reality they are eroding justice and peace. It is important to a socialistic movment to discredit faith in God so that the only hope is the state. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, the Lord of Justice, and the only Way to live and think. There are no victims in heaven, but hell is full of them and desires for so many more. 

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.