Facing National Fear and Anxiety
Written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“Evil persons do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely. ”
In my first year of seminary, I lived just two blocks from the pub famous theologian Paul Tillich used as his second home in Chicago. My theology professor, John Burkhart, was a student of Tillich’s. Tillich was able to put scholarly language to the spiritual crisis of his times. In the mid-1930s, Tillich described a “cloud” of “indefinite anxiety” which covered the world’s nations. He recognized that “everything was without foundation.” Even the Christian Churches were focused on political biases and worshipping earthly kings instead of concentrating on Divine justice and affirming the sovereignty of God.
Tillich describes how quickly large groups of people were willing to hand over their freedom just to curb their short-term anxiety. Losing freedom did not provide more security, but less. The lack of security caused even more strain. It became a vicious circle; with more anxiety came more-centralized control, which created more fear, and more freedom lost, making even more anxiety.
The same is happening in our nation today. A study by the World Health Organization found that “Americans are four times more likely to suffer a generalized anxiety disorder than Mexicans. Moreover, Mexicans recover from the disorder twice as fast. When Mexicans immigrate to America, their anxiety soars.” Freedom is an ongoing challenge, and it can only be maintained by facing injustice, even when it is uncomfortable.
When you read the Old Testament prophets, their lives were not easy. They were rarely appreciated and often harassed. Yet, speaking out with justice, even when it is difficult, is what God requires from each of us. If the German Christians had spoken out courageously in the 1920s and ’30s, the loss of freedom and the death of millions might have been averted. Today, pray for the courage to speak out against injustice. Seek God’s wisdom to see injustice in our midst and to know how to most faithfully and beneficially respond. When we do, Divine freedom is allowed to spread hope and joy anew.
