I had been struggling for a subject for my first blog entry ever since the day I stepped foot in Mrs. Cheray’s English class and was informed that a weekly blog entry would be in the best interest of my grade. My struggle to come up with a topic was certainly not due to any lack of turmoil or excitement in my personal life, yet still I remained stumped. Until this morning. I decided to work on reading my English book hoping for some guidance or inspiration. I ran across the story A Boy’s Life and while I found it humorous, what really struck me was one little quote in the story, it was more of a comment really, “Power can be enjoyed only when it is recognized and feared. Fearlessness in those without power is maddening to those who have it.” I thought about why fearlessness towards those in a position of authority is absolutely vital to the preserving of human rights while at other times this fearless quality is dangerous.For example, I am a mother of five children, my children, though greatly loved are still my subjects. Yes, I am aware that some will think I am outdated and archaic for holding this opinion but I like to think of our family as more of a dictatorship than a democracy, albeit a benign dictatorship with a kind and loving King and Queen. Besides, if four young boys had an equal vote, we would be eating cake for dinner every night and be on a continuous schedule of back to back Sponge Bob marathons. To clarify, when I say we are a dictatorship, I am not saying my children don’t have any rights, also being in power never gives me the right to abuse them, it gives me the power to protect them. Also, I have respect for them as humans, people with feelings and needs ect. but without a little fear (certainly not terror) it would be utter pandemonium in our home. There is nothing quite like trying to get compliance from an utterly fearless toddler in a grocery store, near a busy street or with a metal fork about to be inserted into an electrical outlet. It’s outright dangerous for the child to have no fear of authority. Healthy fear of authority, as children keeps us from being run over by a car, as adults it keeps us out of prison. Really, I think when the Bible talks about fearing God, this is the kind of fear it is referring to, not the terror of a sadistic tyrant but the fear that would keep us from self destruction.Then you can look at the atrocities committed against the powerless throughout human history. With out this fierce quality, without fearlessness in the face of tyrants there would be no liberation. People have shuttled slaves through the Underground Railroad, others hid the Jewish people in their own homes during the rein of Hitler, and this they did knowing the penalty could be death. Even our nation’s founders stood against the tyranny of Britain at the possible cost of forfeiting all that they had. Without this tenacity the world would be over run with those who would victimize those they perceive as weaker.On a personal note I have another perspective on the whole idea of being fearless against those in power and it comes from my own experience. I spent almost a decade in a church that taught that obedience and compliance with my leaders was the path to acceptance by God. To not comply, to not submit meant (to them) that I was a rebel. I was taught that rebellion is the sin of idolatry and idolaters are rejected by God and don’t go to heaven. This kept me in perpetual fear of my pastor and the church leaders. Even my thoughts were controlled. We were taught that any doubts or criticism against the practices of the church were brought on by a demonic spirit. So I became afraid even of my own thoughts and reasoning. Fear became a tool to entrap me. It was only when I began to realize that God had not called me to fear men, that He in fact called me to liberty, that I could begin to even grasp the possibility of freedom. Then I assessed the veracity of their threats. What would happen to me if I chose to leave? I found that most of their threats were unfounded. Unfortunately some where, the threat of loosing credibility among people I love was real, the threat of loosing a support system I had come to depend on was real and the threat of rejection even animosity from my peers were both very real. I eventually came to a point that I can not say was truly fearlessness but instead I was willing to face the consequences of rebellion in order to be free. I would like to tell you it’s been easy but it hasn’t. Some times I even feel worse than before I had my “freedom.”People seem to always speak and dream of freedom in glowing terms and I think it is a victorious thing. Freedom, however, often comes with a steep price and a heap of responsibility. For me it was worth it.Nichole Jeffries
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