Since starting my master’s program, I find myself using a dictionary more now than I ever had before. Words that I had a general understanding of, become more specific and help me better understand the actual meaning and context. After using the dictionary, I no longer only have my interpretation of the word but also the author or creator’s intended interpretation and purpose. So when I heard God tell me that fear is hereditary, I had a general understanding. Still, it wasn’t until after reading the definition and pondering on this statement for a while that I began to understand what God was telling me. 

When looking up the definition of this adjective, I first realized that there are three different categories of the word; law, biology, and mathematics. My general understanding was similar to the definition for law, when a person receives a title, office, or right conferred by or based on inheritance. This person may or may not have earned a position but automatically receives it through inheritance by law. God showed me fear based on this meaning can be given to us because of an inheritance from our ancestors. Our ancestors may have been fearful, never living out faith but making their life choices based on fear, and they passed that trait along to the next generation and other intangible and tangible things. Simple enough understanding, right? However, God showed me that we do not have to accept an inheritance. We can deny receiving a legacy of fear or anything else for that matter that is not of God.  

The mathematic definition is that every element that has a given relation to a set member is also a member of the set. A simplified understanding could be a kind established by tradition. Meaning that because I am a part of society and society has fear, that element of fear affects me as a member of society. For example, when society is afraid of COVID, civil war, market crashes, etc., I will naturally exhibit those fears in one way or another. Fear in society can look different for all of us. Your fear may be not meeting the world’s standard of success, so you are always in a hurry to work on the next thing that will elevate you. Someone else’s fear may be not meeting the same level or standard of parenting that their friend group is meeting. Kids are not involved enough; family doesn’t take as many pictures or go on as many vacations. This could go on and on, but I hope I’ve made the point. Society has set a standard that all of us have unconsciously been affected by. What God showed me here is to take a moment for solitude. Evaluate what fears are in my life that come from western cultural traditions. What standards am I setting for myself and my family based on what the world dictates rather than scripture, which causes me to fear?  

The last meaning is Biology. Biology is genetically transmitted or transmittable from parent to offspring. Now science or biology has never been a strength for me, but I do understand that we can not deny our genetic makeup. However, biology and genetics can be studied. I learned here that fear could be examined and treated like every other genetic disease. We just have to do the work. We have to be aware that the condition exists and then use the correct antidote to treat fear, trust in God. 

Which of these three categories of fear do you experience?

Read 1 Samuel 12