Season of Fear

This week during our staff meeting, one of the ideas that came up was what our deepest fear is. Of course, this being the scary movie season, it feels like a question people are asking a lot.

There are many places that have monthlong fear fests. October has Friday the 13th and Halloween this year, so there was plenty to explore. And, of course, we all have fears that those movies explore.

For example, I grew up on the coast of California, but I was never that excited about being in the Ocean. Why? Well, I saw "Jaws" at an early age. It remains one of my favorite films, and though on some level I realize a shark attack like that is highly unlikely, it still creeps me out. And the hundreds of shark attack films since "Jaws" have done little to dissuade me.

But that's not the only kind of horror film that hits a little too close to home. I have watched hundreds of horror films — in fact in college I did a research project on the evolution of slasher films. But there is a whole set I couldn't do — "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Because I don't do chainsaws. They creep me out. I won't even watch them in regular movies. I'm always worried something weird is going to happen and someone is going to loose a finger or a hand. It's the reason I can't do garbage disposal scenes in movies, either.

But that's not really the kind of fear that they were talking about. I mean, those are fears, but are they real? That wasn't really the point of our discussion, because horror movies play into our most exaggerated fears.

I really started to think about what a real fear might be. One of the things I rely on most is my mind and my memory. I have ever since I was a kid. I don't take notes and write a lot of things down because if I can see it, I can remember it. That's how I do recall, too. So my mind matters to me a lot, and the idea of losing it or damaging it is scary.

I've seen a lot of horror movies, but one of the scariest movies I've seen is "Still Alice," a movie released in 2014 about a college professor (Julianne Moore) who suffers early onset Alzheimer's Disease. The film shows what happens to her and the impact on her family. There is a moment in the film that I will never forget when Alice attends her daughters performance. Afterward they go backstage to talk to her daughter and, for a moment, Alice doesn't recognize her daughter, and it's as if she's meeting her for the first time. It was heart-breaking, and something that stuck with me.

I think there's a part of us that leans into horror movies and things that scare us because we are always waiting for the other shoe to drop. But being trapped in fear and worry isn't good for us, and it certainly doesn't protect us.

That's why Jesus urges us not to worry, not to give into fears and insecurities, but rather to lean on Him. In his greatest sermon, The Sermon on the Mount, He says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34)

So during this time of year we revel in fear, we watch scary movies and specials, and we dress in terrifying costumes. We feel fear and we watch stories that play into our fears. But it's important not to give into those fears and let them rule us.