‘Fomo or Fiat?’

1/23/2018

I Was Thinking…

I have decided that the opposite of faith is not doubt. Wrestling with doubt can actually lead us to a deeper faith. The opposite of faith is fear. Someone has said that there are as many “Do not be afraid” statements in scripture as there are days in the year. I have not counted them but it is true that the scripture is full of “Fear not’s”. Fear is a paralyzing state of mind and heart. Fear often keeps us from discovering the benefits of faithful living.

There is a new kind of fear that is popular these days. It is referred to as ‘FOMO’…fear of missing out. This is a type of social anxiety in which a person feels as if they are missing an important experience or opportunity. It is a fear that if you, for example, miss a party you will miss out on something great. ‘Fomo’…fear of missing out.

‘Fomo’ reminds me that it can be difficult to ‘be in the present’. It is a challenge to know the peace of which the Apostle Paul wrote to the young Christians in Corinth long ago, “I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10, NRSV). Paul knew something about ‘seizing the moment’ with faith. He knew how to ‘sit with the present’ and find blessing even if/when the blessing was not readily apparent.

We live in an unsettled world that seems to always be in a state of ‘Fomo’. Our faith is hindered because we expect if we have faith that life will be full of rainbows and butterflies every day in every way. And as the reality that life is not perfect hits us like cold water in the face, we often turn to fear rather than to faith…with the result being a ‘fearful paralyzing stalemate of soul’.

Do not be afraid, my friends. Hear anew these words of Jesus “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, KJV) Do we have faith that Jesus is telling the truth? Or are we afraid that he may be misleading us?

I’d like to create a new acronym… ‘FIAT’. Not the Italian automobile or the legal term meaning ‘decree’… but an acronym that means ‘Faith In All Things’. In the state of ‘FIAT’ we find peace not fear.

FOMO or FIAT? Fear or Faith? Anxiety or Peace? May our lives be full of ‘FIAT’!

Always Thinking…