Until men and women begin to understand that all there is of power belongs to God, and to know that God is unchanging Principle, the all-knowing, all-wise Mind, the cry, "I am afraid," is apt to hamper, harass, and hold them in bondage.
The myriad channels through which mortals allow fear to operate, do not need to be enumerated here, as such a list would not tend to decrease or destroy fear. It is the release from and dominion over fear that mankind want, and seek. It would rather startle some of us, perhaps, were we to consider how many businesses have been established in order to lessen humanity's fears and anxieties. The fear of fire, the fear of dishonesty, the fear of death, — think of the number of enterprises based on these three fears!
Fear is always a mark of ignorance; that which one understands he never fears. We see this in watching a little child who is afraid of the water, and noting the change that comes when he learns how to swim. Understanding how to act in the water, he has overcome his fear of it. To overcome fear, there must be the destruction of ignorance by wisdom. Solomon said: "Get wisdom, get understanding: . . . Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee." St. James shows us the way to attain wisdom, and he also shows that it is available to all men: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not: and it shall be given him." Here are definite, direct statements as to the means by which wisdom may be gained, and as to the results we may expect when we have gained it.
