Governance by Fear vs. Love

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

Immanuel came to give us of His spirit, a part of the Heavenly Father, to regenerate our minds, hearts, souls, spirits, and flesh in divine love. In this transformation, leading to new creations fashioned in His likeness, the Father’s spirit through love, not of fear, governs us.

Born into Fear

In being disconnected from the ways of divine love, fear has ruled us from our birth. We are taught at a very young age to act or not act in certain ways by fear; fear of punishment, being yelled at, spanked, intimidated, threatened, ignored, rejected, or neglected. We are taught to obey through fear by our families, employers, teachers, officials, spouses, religion, and other relationships.

Further, from our beginning, people treat us in non-loving ways; ways that induce harm thus fear; criticism, judgment, harsh treatment, oppression, abuse and so on. And how thankful we are for the kindness received amongst these. However, we spend the rest of our lives trying to avoid those treatments, thus living by fear. It directs our thoughts, words, actions, behaviors and choices.

Governance of Fear

Governance by fear creates a plethora of problems. Here are three. First, those being governed can never draw close to someone who uses authority by fear, which creates a ubiquitous fear in their lives. Fear creates distance, not closeness. It causes us to want to run from and not draw near to others. If someone desires love from us, presiding over us by fear doesn’t work. We can’t have a relationship of love on a foundation of fear. Fear divides.

Second, if the authoritative party desires love from us, a rule of fear doesn’t allow those following to truly act in love. If we are governed by fear, we make decisions to avoid the fear (criticism, judgment, punishment), thus we aren’t making decisions out of love. We may be more obedient to defined rules, but that doesn’t create new and abundant loving results, only self-preservation. A mindset of fear verses love creates two very different outcomes. A fear-based rule can’t create a love-based reality.

Third, fear gives birth to lies, deception, and hiding ourselves from others, because we fear the consequences. It’s very hard to be totally open and honest under a rule of fear. We want to cover-up our mistakes and that makes it hard to grow and learn from them. For the one to teach us the right way is the one we are trying to hide our mistakes from. Further, we can’t bear the disapproval housed in fear, so we hide ourselves as much as possible. Thus it makes it difficult to deal with our weaknesses and brokenness for our anxiety of those areas being exposed keeps them hidden and unhealed.

Being established on this framework, our fears dictate most of our actions to some degree. In fear of disapproval, being left out, made fun of, forgotten, unloved, and disrespected, we act very differently than if we didn’t fear these things. We all go great lengths to avoid our fears. We haven gotten so use to responding based on our fears we don’t recognize it. It is an undercurrent of our lives to such an extent that it shapes our personality.

A Change of Governance

A ruler of any type of authority can govern by fear or love. Obviously love is far superior for it manifests actions from the followers out of love and not fear, which produce far superior results. However, those under love’s reign have to understand and know love. Without understanding it, they can’t be governed by it. If there is a treasure chest in front of you, but you are blind and can’t see it, you won’t grab a hold of it. Fears are immensely prevalent, seen and known, and divine love is not, so people remain in their fears.

Because fear has been our foundation from our birth, we have to push through fear to seek to learn and know divine love. (Divine love is far different than the love we learn from the world, which is peppered with fears.) The path of understanding divine love isn’t an easy transition for fears go very deep into our subconscious, and are tied to lies and harmful experiences. But this is part of the renewal of our minds by the Spirit of Truth who sets us free so we can be a creation governed by love.

Freed from Fear

Once we intimately know divine love so that we begin to give and receive it, it starts to replace fear in our lives. Through this growing awareness of what is of love and what isn’t we start to become free from fear, and start to be governed by love. Fear is based on lies so it can’t stand in the face of truth. Love is truth, thus in knowing it, it prevails against the fears. Truth always defeats the lies for lies aren’t real and truth is.

Divine love is the fulfillment of all our desires. When we start to experience it, we are transformed by it into spirit-minded creations who think and act according to the ways of God. It becomes our sole desire. Thus, one foundation is replaced with another, and we start to walk in the spirit-mind governed by love and no longer the flesh-mind governed by fear.

New Covenant

The new covenant between our Creator, who is love, and us is a governance of love. Love is the supreme mindset of a creation. It’s one in which the creation will do amazing acts of goodness for others. It’s one in which the creation can always grow and expand into eternal life. It’s one in which the creation desires to become so deeply connected to it’s Creator because it’s drawn into the source of love.

Love seems weak and fear strong only because people have not known divine love. Fear has been the ruling entity in this world. Yet, love is far stronger, for once we taste it, all we want is to go deeper and more of it. We will turn from all that is contrary to the point of becoming willfully and fully governed by God Himself. There is nothing more powerful. The heavenly Father’s righteousness reign is one of love. It is in love that He will come to us to make us His dwelling place in the spirit.

May we be spirits who seek to operate by divine love within ourselves and with others. May all of creation be released from its bondage to fear.

Isaiah 14:3 It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve,