Love drives out fear

Recently, I've been selling a lot of stuff on Craigslist. For anyone who's been in the selling position, you can relate that a variety of people call you, come to your doorstep, and, maybe, walk into your house. Having people you don't know penetrate the barriers you've built up can be scary and unpredictable.

In my current job as a cable technician (guy), I am in other people's homes all day. For some reason, it's just different when they're in my home. It takes more work to trust someone when they're coming close to what's near to your heart than it takes to trust someone when you're close to what's near to theirs.

I recently finished Kathryn Stockett's novel, The Help, a book about living in Jackson, Mississippi in the heat of the civil rights era. It's a first person narrative told from the perspective of three women; first, a young white female author who's writing a book from the perspective of "the help" or the black maids of the southern homes in her town; secondly and thirdly, the story is told from two of the maid's, that this author is writing about, perspectives. It's a provocative novel that has both funny and grotesque aspects of the effects of racism and prejudice that plague(d) so many of our societies during this era.

My favorite character in this book is a woman by the name of Celia Foote. Celia grew up in "white-trash-ville" but had the looks to sweep up the hunk that the town's most popular girl, Hilly Holbrook, was dating. Obviously, her good looks, man-thieving capabilities, and her "unpopular" upbringing separate her from her white peers. All throughout the book, Celia is trying to become part of the popular crowd that she so longs to be a part of. Her maid, Milly, is a rough-round-the-edges southern woman that has a smart mouth and a fire that is bound to get her in all kinds of trouble. Milly starts her relationship with Celia not understanding why that "fool" don't understand any of the rules. Celia is not like the other white women Milly's served. She touches, eat meals with, laughs with, and befriends Milly. (it really is an excellent book, and I'd recommend it to anyone)

There's an innocence/ignorance/air-headedness about Celia that I found so attractive. At the same time that I was reading this book, I was creating a 5 step plan involving a loaded gun sitting on my washer, a locked garage door, a wife ready to dial 9-1-1, and a secret knock on the door indicating stress to "protect" myself and my family from whatever type of person might have been coming to my house to check out that ol desk that's been sitting in my garage.

After the first Craigslist visitor did absolutely nothing to indicate any sketchiness, I found myself telling Meredith that I need to be more like Celia and less like Hilly.

You see, prejudice comes from fear. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with protecting my family from danger. But, my protection was coming from a general distrust of people. I think that Celia has some things to teach me about trusting people, believing in the goodness of people, and always persevering to love my enemies. Celia's not all soft either, so don't go thinkin that she doesn't know how to protect herself.

Love drives out fear. That Biblical concept has many implications. I would contend that one implication is that when we love people, we're not afraid of them. We've got nothing to lose when we risk for the sake of love. If I die because I loved, then I lived! If I die because I was afraid, then I missed out on freedom! Love without fear, trust in the One you love, and risk everything.

Dare all the more...