Article February 8, 1908 Issue

THE GENEALOGY OF FEAR

M. G. KAINS, M.S.

When a horse "shies" at a newspaper beside the road the true horseman quiets the animal's fear before he urges him forward. He, perhaps unconsciously, reasons thus: "I see it is only a piece of paper; I am not afraid of it because I know it to be harmless; the horse will not be afraid of it as soon as he sees what it really is; if I let him examine it, he will see its harmlessness and will go forward fearlessly without danger to himself or to me."

This kind of incident, which has probably come under every one's observation, suggests the nature and genealogy of fear. Let us see. The horse was afraid because he did not know what the paper really was; in other words, his fear was the result of his ignorance. But with the knowledge of the true nature of the object the ignorance disappeared, and consequently the fear with its progeny. He thus proved that neither ignorance nor fear is a power, though seeming to be powerful. When a knowledge of the truth came to his rescue the animal was released from the false effects of ignorance—fear and its manifestations.

In further illustration of this line of reasoning the following incident will prove helpful: A young woman had been recommended as a competent secretary to a literary man whom she had neither seen nor corresponded with, and who lived a considerable journey from her home. From remarks he had made to the friend who recommended her and from this friend's description of him, she began to underestimate her ability to cope with possible contingencies that might arise in connection with the work. Then her vivid imagination, once started in the wrong direction, began to conjure up more serious terrors, and she had almost decided to break her agreement when she consulted a Christian Science practitioner. The practitioner assured her that her fear was the result of ignorance; that ignorance in this case was due to forgetting that God is everywhere, is the source of all true knowledge and always ready to supply every need of every child who calls upon Him; and that the only course was to trust God, ask for guidance and go ahead. Somewhat reassured but still trembling she went. Not one of her fears was realized. She had no difficulty with the work, she was in particularly congenial surroundings, in a beautiful country home among birds and flowers which she loved; she stayed twice as long as her term of engagement called for, and as the work was far lighter than she had conjectured, she had the equivalent of a vacation, which she had previously felt she could not take that summer.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

THE GENEALOGY OF FEAR

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access