I find myself getting exceedingly annoyed with our risk adverse, anxiety ridden culture. You know what I mean, the plaintive Covid wail of desperation that has now become a standard greeting, Stay Safe! Sheesh, I had no idea I was in such grave danger? Thanks for the constant reminder that I might drop dead at any moment from circumstances completely beyond my control.

First you should know, I am probably one of the most risk adverse people on the planet. I’m totally unqualified to lecture anyone about the need to take risks, the value to be found in being bold and living dangerously. Just as a disclaimer, if you are already a great risk taker, constantly playing risky games, disregard this post. You probably are in danger of driving the car off the road on the other side of the meridian. Life requires some balance and common sense.

There’s a fellow here who rides some kind of electric unicycle thing down the center of the road. He is just a sight to behold, very fast, very elegant. Also, he’s pretty much broken every bone in his body. He is quite delightful, I’m just saying this post is not for people like him. I speak of people who are trapped in boring behaviors and repetitive narratives. People paralyzed by fear without even really being consciously aware of it.

Force yourself to step out of your comfort zone just a teeny, tiny bit.

I’m a mom so these things just slip out of my mouth, be safe, be careful, look both ways, make sure you tie your shoe laces, don’t set yourself on fire….It’s only recently that I’ve realized just how negative that all is. To some degree it’s appropriate with small children. You are keeping them safe, reminding them that actions have consequences, that there are some hidden dangers they might not yet be aware of that they need to pay attention to. The problem being, in the adult world this just looks like chronic anxiety, powerlessness, and a desperate plea for some control.

Back in the day people would just turn their kids lose in the world and tell them they better be home by dark. Today we are so freaked out about kidnappers, germs, sex trafficking, drugs, weirdos, and accidents beyond our control, that perpetual anxiety is actually perceived as healthy and responsible. There’s an ad that is so ominous it kind of makes me laugh. It bellows out, “remember to hydrate” in a manner most jarring to the senses. The message being, remember to hydrate or you will surely die and likely in the most horrific way possible because you are a rotten, irresponsible human who is totally responsible for inflicting all the misery to be found on this planet.

Since when is simply drinking some water a matter of life and death with so many deeply rooted moral implications?! Seriously. It might be somewhat true if you’re hiking out in the desert or digging ditches in the hot sun, but the vast majority of us do not need these urgent reminders. This is kind of like shrieking hysterically at people, don’t forget to breath!

There’s a lie wrapped up in all of this, an illusion of having control over things we really don’t have much control over at all. And always, always, the message is, you’re a terrible person if you don’t do all the right things and control all the outcomes. Let’s just take “stay safe” when it comes to viruses. If you don’t stay safe, if you don’t do all the right things, you’re bad and deserve the worst. Then we can just cluck, cluck, in a very shaming manner, yep, no wonder that happened. Unlike me, they forgot to hydrate.

Ironically, it’s kind of a weird religious message. I do not approve! In faith, in the gospel, we actually get what we don’t deserve. We exchange our sin, our brokenness, our shame, for mercy, grace, love, forgiveness. We set down all of those illusions of control and trade them in for the righteousness of Christ. Highly recommend. Four stars.