Who's afraid?
Starting 30 hubs in 30 days is a whole lot easier than finishing them, and here I am on hub seven when I should be on hub eight, and wondering if I can possibly find concepts for the next twenty two hubs.
I'm mainly writing non commercial Christian hubs, and have no real inclination to introduce more folk into the fascinating world of coffee machines, but I'll take requests!
Whos' afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
One of the iconic songs of the Depression years, first appeared in a cartoon by Disney but rapidly became an anthem for a generation who knew poverty.
They were a people who had just experienced a decade of prosperity where ordinary folk made small or large fortunes by borrowing money to invest in stock and shares.
Sound familiar?
Their world collapsed when the bankers pulled the rug from under the market, having made their fortunes already.
This left the poor Joe on the street to pick up the tab.
Yep, I think it sounds familiar.
Panic set in and folk suffered great losses, and the President told the nation that the only thing they needed to fear was fear itself.
He was correct, but telling people that when their lives have imploded, when the house is lost, the job has evaporated and the bill are unpaid, is futile, they worry anyway.
Big Bad Wolf's Lyrics
From the animation 'The Three Little Pigs'. Lyrics by Frank Churchill and Ann Ronell, sung to music by Frank Churchill.
Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf
Big bad wolf, big bad wolf?
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
Tra la la la la
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf
Big bad wolf, big bad wolf?
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
Tra la la la la
Long ago there were three pigs
Little handsome piggy-wigs
For the big, bad very big very bad wolf
They didn't give three figs
Number one was very gay
And he built his house of hay
With a hey hey toot
He blew on his flute
And he played around all day
Number two was fond of jigs
And so he built his house with twigs
Heigh diddle-diddle
He played on his fiddle
And danced with lady pigs
Number three said "Nix on tricks
I will built my house with bricks"
He had no chance
To sing and dance
'Cause work and play don't mix
Ha ha ha! The two little
Do little pigs just winked and laugh, ha ha!
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf
Big bad wolf, big bad wolf?
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
Tra la la la la
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf
Big bad wolf, big bad wolf?
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
Tra la la la la
Came the day when fate did frown
And the wolf blew into town
With a gruff "puff-puff" he puffed just enough
And the hay house fell right down
One and two were scared to death
Of the big bad wolfie's breath
"By the hair of your chin-ny-chin,
I'll blow you in"
And the twig house answered yes
No one left but number Three
To save the piglet family
When they knock
He fast unlocked
And said "Come in with me!"
Now they all were safe inside
And the bricks hurt wolfie's pride
So, he slid down the chimney
And, oh, by Jimney
In the fire he was fried
Ha ha ha! The three little
Free little pigs rejoice and laughed, ha ha!
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf
Big bad wolf, big bad wolf?
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
Tra la la la la
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf
Big bad wolf, big bad wolf?
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
Tra la la la la!
So there are some things which remain consistent, we see boom and bust, we see wealth and poverty, we see contentment and fear, and we see it happening in regular cycles, nobody escapes the pattern.
We see a homily to work hard and build our house with bricks.
Christ also told a parable about house building.
He said that we needed to build our houses on the rock, referring to Himself, we are told that building your house on sand will see it crumble when the winds of trouble come.
We are told to count the cost before we start building, so that we are not shamed by being unable to finish what we started.
Finally we are told to be ready to leave our house at a moments notice, to not even go back inside to collect anything, when the call comes to flee for our lives.
In short we are to base our worldly existence on Christ, and not to hold onto our lives so tightly, that we miss the mark, by trying to take what is temporal into a spiritual eternity.
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but we all feel fear from time to time, it's natural, especially when your world is crashing down right where you stand.
But if fear does not come from God, then it must come from the enemy, it must originate with Satan, who seeks to undermine our faith and trust in God by whispering in our ears that God has not provided everything we need, that this or that will see us in the gutter.
I can accept that God allows the world system to crash at least once in any century, in order that folk don't get complacent and turn away from His truths.
There is nothing like adversity to make folk consider what is truth and what is a lie. I read that since the Haiti earthquake 11,000 people a day have been turning to Christ for the answer.
I will not comment on their sincerity, but the numbers are quite staggering and for the genuine supplicants, Christ will be confessed as Lord and life will improve.
We need to reject fear, for as Franklin D. Roosevelt said: "So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."
When we reject fear and trust God, make Christ the Lord of our lives and reject the lies of the world and Satan, we will be sheltered from the storm, and as we grow in our faith and trust, rise above the problems.
In the Disney song the three little pigs get the wolf when he falls into the fire they build, and we can do the same, but not in a earthly fire, but the fire of the Holy Spirit, which will burn off all that is dross and leave only that which is pure and holy,
When we go through the refiners fire, our lives and spirits rise from the flames and gleam with a glory for God, as we again walk with Him.
Fire cleanses, it destroys the old and leaves good soil for the new to restore the forest, we need to clear the deadwood in order for new growth to start, it is God showing us how to deal with life.
