Fear and Insecurity

What is the chief worry of the ordinary man and the ordinary woman?

In order to answer this question, the London newspaper asked twenty men and twenty women to give their views. Those to whom the question was put represented a cross section of workers whose ages ranged from sixteen to forty, whose incomes ranged from a small wage to a large one.

It was found that most of the wage earners, men and women, were in constant fear of losing their jobs. One professional woman wrote, "Fading looks and a lessening of energy bring fear for the safety of my job." A woman earning her livelihood in the business world must be on top of her job the whole time, otherwise the boss begins to think of replacing her with some bright youngster.

A typical answer from men was this: insecurity of job; the feeling that one can be plunged in a moment from comfort to poverty through no real fault of his own, but through the personal whim of someone else.

It appears from these answers that for most people the chief worry is insecurity. Columnist John R. Gunn writes, "The world provides no abiding security for anybody. Our only unfailing reliance is in God. We are anxious and fearful because we have not realized God is our Father and do not know and understand Him."

If we have no vision of God and nothing to look to but our own strength and resources, it is no wonder we fret and worry and vex ourselves with anxious forboding. To know God and trust Him is the one and only sure way to banish worry and anxiety, for He rules over His world and promises salvation and eternal life for those who believe in Jesus Christ.