Why is Fear Effective?
I hate political ads. I bet you do too.
In fact, I’ve never met anyone who liked them.
Of course, every now and then one will break through that’s mildly entertaining (like this rapping grandmother running for congress in Utah), but for the most part they are miserable.
We hate these ads because they are so negative. Instead of presenting a positive message, they leverage fear and anxiety to make us hate their opponent.
It stinks, and nobody likes it.
And yet, every few years these ads flood our TV screens and streaming platforms.
Every wonder why?
Why do they keep making ads everyone hates?
Why do they keep making ads that fuel more division?
Why do they keep making ads that create so much fear?
BECAUSE THEY WORK.
Sure, negative ads churn our stomachs. But we’ll keep seeing them pop up because they flat out work.
Research shows that part of the reason they work is because our brains are wired to look for and remember negative information.
We may not love that one candidate, but the other one is so much worse. Thousands of reviewers will rave about the restaurant, but one bad critique will keep us from visiting. Millions of children will trick-or-treat each Halloween, but some random (maybe untrue) story of some creep poisoning candy will cause us to examine every piece our kids bring home.
Just like we’d like fewer political ads, we’d like to have way less fear in our lives.
After the chaos of the last few years, most of us are painfully aware of the fear and anxiety that surrounds us. We long for peace, calm, and rest, and we resolve to not let fear run our lives. But like an inflatable clown punching bag, our fears just keep popping back up.
We dwell continually on fears like:
- Will I have enough money?
- What if this is as good as it gets?
- Will I ever feel happy?
- What if my health doesn’t hold up?
- Are my kids safe?
- Is our country falling apart?
- What if people found out the truth about me?
- Do I have what it takes?
We wish we could be positive, patient, and peaceful, but we end up paralyzed and perturbed instead. Why? What’s going on with us?
I think we get all-too-comfortable with fear for at least four reasons:
- Fear helps us feel sane. Most of our fears really are scary. We’re not crazy (most of the time 😆), and staying scared makes us feel like we’re grounded in reality.
- Fear works. It’s not just motivating for political ads, it’s sometimes effective for changing behavior — ours or others. Like the task-master coach or tutor, fear can keep us on a better track.
- Fear makes us feel in control. There’s an irony here, of course. Our worry doesn’t actually stop anything in a chaotic world. But somehow our brains get tricked into thinking we have just a smidge more control.
- Fear is all we’ve ever known. For so many of us, we’ve never really known a calm existence where we aren’t afraid. Maybe it’s not better, but it’s all we know.
Just because fear feels normal, doesn’t mean it’s where we want to stay.
Over the next few weeks, me and some of my friends from the Digital Resources Team at Redemption Church Gateway will be sending you a few more resources that might help us to not let fear have the final word. (hopefully it will be more enjoyable than the political ads!)
To get you started, here’s a very short video by our friends at The Bible Project about what we’re actually all hungry for: PEACE (the Hebrew word for it is “Shalom”).
We actually want to move toward greater peace — in our minds and our relationships — and we’re eager to help you do that.
Wishing you peace,
Luke Simmons
P.S. If you have anything going on in your life that you’d like me to pray for you about, you can find my email on the staff page or submit here. I'd love to here from you. I think prayer is one of the ways God helps us fight fear, and I’d be happy to fight for you!
