The year was 1975. Besides being the year I graduated from High School, something else of significance happened that summer – something that, for many people, forever changed the way they looked at and thought about the theretofore relaxing and enjoyable experience of stepping into the ocean. Of course, I’m talking about the movie “Jaws”. Prior to the release of that movie into the theaters of the world, I doubt that one person in a thousand ever gave more than a passing thought that something really awful could happen to them during a day at the beach. But after that movie was released and seen by millions, I doubt that one person in a thousand could feel something unexpectedly brush against their leg while swimming or even wading in the ocean without experiencing a rush of adrenaline, and maybe even screaming – at least a little bit. Admit it – you know you did – that is, if you could even bring yourself to step out into water that was more than knee-deep. And as for swimming at night, well, that just wasn’t going to happen. Beach resort communities suffered as vacationers decided that maybe it was time for a trip to the mountains instead of the sea.
And then, a short three years later, with a deliciously perfect advertising campaign that used only these short words: “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…”, you guessed it, here came “Jaws 2”. And yes, the fear ratcheted right back up. The Mayors of resort communities from Brownsville to Amity Island, and from San Diego to Seattle were up in arms all over again.
Of course, we all know, deep down in our rational minds, that the release of completely fictional movies did nothing to change anything about the ocean, or about sharks, or about the risks which sharks pose to humans who have the temerity to invade their domain. According to the Florida Museum of Natural History [at least as of 2017], there are only an average of 82 unprovoked attacks by sharks on humans in any given year, and, on average, only 8 of these attacks result in death. The Museum estimates that your chances of dying in a shark attack are about 1 in 3,748,067. You are far more likely to die from being struck by lightning – 1 in 161,856. We all have a healthy respect for lightning. But with the possible exception of golfers, the respect we have for lightning is nothing compared to the gut-wrenching terror that we have for sharks.
[My wife, who is blessed with more than normal common sense, looks at the statistics quoted above and says that the chances of being killed in a shark attack actually go down to zero if you never get into the ocean. Should I tell her about the “Sharknado” movies which “prove” this isn’t true?]
Fear. Where does it come from? It seems, from the admittedly tiny piece of evidence examined today, that it comes from our minds. Or maybe, more accurately, fear comes from our imaginations. Yes, sharks are present in the oceans; yes, sharks can, and occasionally will, attack humans. But how did these facts become so overwhelming that we forget the other facts – that shark attacks are exceedingly rare – and dread even wading into the ocean? Our imaginations take over, and all we “see” is the monster moving swiftly and inexorably toward us, with the sounds of the movie’s magnificent musical score by John Williams echoing in our heads. And once our imaginations take us there, no true facts about sharks, no true facts about the remoteness of the possibility of an attack, and no “Oh see what lovely creatures they are” from the scientists on “Shark Week”, are likely to overcome the sights and sounds of our own imaginations run wild.
Strange – when it comes to the things of God, it almost seems like we let our imaginations run wild with sad and fearful thoughts - like He cannot love anyone as awful as me, or that He desires only to crush me and take from me, and leave me alone in a drab world drained of anything remotely enjoyable. None of these things are even remotely true. I wonder where such thoughts come from? Obviously, they come from the enemy who wants us to miss all the wonderful things that God has in store for us.
Would it not be far better to let our imaginations run wild with the amazing truths about God – things like the fact that He knows everything about us and still loves us more than we can even understand; that He is for us not against us; that He has poured grace and mercy all over us; that He has adopted us into His Royal family; that He has given us places of honor at His table; that He has great expectations for us; that He has great plans for us; that He can do more than we can ask or imagine; that He has prepared for us a place that even our imaginations run wild cannot imagine?
Let’s not allow imagined fear to come in and steal the joy that God wants us to live in as His children. Go ahead and let your imagination run wild with thoughts of the beauty and wonder of God. Whatever you imagine will not exceed the truth. And that should change how you live in the real world. The truth of God means you can live of life of joy, not a life of fear. And yes, joy is better!
Ambrose Ramsey | Shepherd
