Does God want us to live in fear?

Growing up, my mother raised me to believe that I should never be happy with what I have, because then God will take it away. So I'm always fearful something horrible will happen in life. It...

Growing up, my mother raised me to believe that I should never be happy with what I have, because then God will take it away. So I'm always fearful something horrible will happen in life. It's really starting to drive me insane. I just want to live a normal life, but it's hard to, when I've been taught this since I was very young. I know that must be the most rediculious question anyone has ever heard, but can anyone help? Please, I really can't go on living like this.

Bellatrix Darkwing	God doesn't want us to live in fear. If he did, why would people trust, love, and independently worship him? If God always took happy things away from us, and wanted to punish us constantly, people would only pray to him out of fear and the world would be full of suspicion and sorrow. Since neither of these things are true, I think it's safe to assume God is not a fearful making creator. God wants us to do the right thing by others and ourselves. If we do something right, we are often rewarded. If we do something wrong, things we treasure may be taken from us, or misfortune may fall upon us. I think you're mother is a little confused. If you're happy with what you have, it means you aren't selfish or uncontent-you're genuinely happy with your life. As long as you do the best you can in life and be a kind soul to others, unecessary bad things won't happen to you. Never live in fear or suspicion-it will haunt your soul and hold you back on being what you ought to be. Don't tiptoe around your life, afraid things will blow up any second. It isn't true.

johann_s	Yes, if you go by the Old Testament. Specifically, you are to live in fear of God. Unfortunately, today it seems like it's always HUMAN BEINGS TELLING US WHAT GOD WANTS. like they know. pffffff

iluvvasinging	the answer is definately not god never wants us to live in fear that is a lie from the devil! god wats us to live happily in peace remeber he says in his word he come to give you life and life more abuntantly but the devil comes to steal kill and destroy.so hun i don't kno why ur mother told you that but there is no need to live in fear! god has a plan for ur life and onces you can expect that the scared adn worried life you are living now is a lie from the devil adn should be casted down then you will truely begin to see wat god has for you!

Mark	i believe in the end, all the goods will equal all the bads, neutral.

cee bees	Nothing is wrong with being happy for what you have. God just doesn't want you to exalt your things above Him. I don't know any father who doesn't want their child to enjoy life. He gives you the ability to have those things. Just remember to have the "things" and not allow those "things" to have you. God would have us to be content with what we have-but that comes with maturity in Christ. Read what the bible says about this subject and pray about it-you will find what He truely says and maybe you can show Mom that he's not like that.

Pink	I am a Christian and what your mother taught you was incorrect. God doesn't want us to live in any fear at all and he especially doesn't want us to feel that once we get happy about something he will take it away. God is not like that at all. God loves you and cares for you. I think the step to overcoming this problem is to get some counselling so that you can learn to realize that it is alright to be happy about things and God is not waiting to pounce in you once you get happy about something. God wants us to fear (in a good way) or reverence him but at the same time he does not want us to be afraid of him at all. God bless and take care!!!!

avenge the clown	think about it this way...... what kind of god is god if in your mind hes a tyrant. you could try abandoning god and finding another religon.......or not.

Mark S	God doesnt want you to live a fearful life, he wants you to live an abudant life!. Sometimes he lets bad things happen to us so we can have faith in him and get closer to him. If evil didnt exist, then how could God show his Goodness to us?, you see what i mean?. You should be thankful for everything you have, theres thousands of people that dont have what to wear or to eat. Be thankful for everything, and thank him for it. I will never fail you or forsake you - Hebrews 13:5 God Bless.

uneducated momma	You should not fear losing what you have. We should appreciate the little things in life because it's the more expensive and extravagant things that don't seem to matter. I live with the mindset that money doesn't matter much to me, but the heart of those you love is the most important. How can god take away the things in which we have if we work hard for them and keep a place in our hearts and lives for him and his work? I have taught my kids when they are afraid to pray about it and god will help to take away their fears and give them the strength to move ahead with their wants. I would suggest that if you give to those in need that you will be more prosperous than if you sit around being greedy. If you have enough to share with the unfortunate, then what would God want you to do? Did he help those that didn't have much? Breaking bread with the hungry, and sharing in ministry. How can we not be happy with what we have? I would suggest that you study the bible and if you are still confused and mislead then maybe ask for the assistance of a pastor to help to explain what God really wants us to do.

Rich	Quite the opposite is true for a Christian. Do to the fact that you are already saved from hell by the mere fact that you believe in Christ as Savior, there is nothing to fear as you cannot go to hell. You should rejoice that you are saved from hell and fear nothing.

IRENE	God does not want us to fear anything. It's the old school way of teaching. God wants our lives to be happy and joyful. I am sorry you have been taught this.

D G	This I can identify with .. I lived in fear of my stepfather for years and then at Spring HOuse I learned no one is going to hurt you. I put things up against the door the counselor would check at night to see if we were there.. I do live in fear and I cant call the cops. Why because the cops believe rapists and there friends... because there cops get it.. I do.... Anyway its almost over.. for a few years I had no fear none at all.. I was a part of a family not mine but a family that would kill someone if they hurt me... these people would protect me better then my Brother and Sister...

Miley	I know you may not appreciate me saying this... but your mother made a mistake! God wants you to be happy, be you! Dont worry so much on what he wants you to do! Just be you. Always forgive. The urge you may have to do wrong things try and resist ( I KNOW ITS HARD) and live life to the fullest. Dont live in fear. That is no way to live. Make lots of friends. If you fight. Dont go and use revenge. Be the first to apologize. ( even if you think they did wrong). Have as much fun as you can!! Have no regrets. The storys you wanna tell your grand children are want fun you had when you were young. And make sure you never have any regrets in your life. What you did in the past is what makes you, YOU... This all seems cheesy, but he doesnt want you to live your life in fear. He loves you for you... If you ever think you did something wrong...prey and ask for forgiveness. That was not a good thing for your mom to do if made you afraid of god. Just Do what I said and RELAX!!! ~!!@lici@!!~

peaches	Fear is the enemy of Love. God is Love.

Sifu Carr	be happy, he wants you to - never be happy? Wrongo! Maybe she had bad times when it seems that everything she wanted and had was always taken away - it may seem that way, but it's not - it's in the natural order of things - everything breaks even - we have good and bad times - equally - not always at the same time - but equally - just as surely as it takes 6 hours for the tide to go out in the ocean, it takes 6 hours to come back in - just as we have winter, we have summer - so on and so on - have fun, be prepared. Suffer through the bad times, know that it will soon change. It can only be night time for so long, then the sun comes up. Hey, it's called life - and yes, it's all worth it - each day something new -

Brood Baby	Actually, no matter how we feel God will always test us and send us grief to help us put things in perspective and appreciate what we have.His tests will help us follow the great path he has in store for us. God doesn't want us to suffer.He is merciful and forgiving and wants us to enjoy life no matter what happens to us.Ultimately, the Lord wants us to always be happy for what we have,but know it can be also be taken away. He wants us to enjoy the most important things in life. If you ask God yourself, he'll give you all the true answers. Praying is a good way to reflect to God about life. Remember,prayer is not just the mindless reciting of poetry, it is conversation with the Lord. Conversation helps build strong relationships and there's nothing stronger than a personal relationship with God. Basically, don't let ANYONE force beliefs on you if you're unsure about your own(at the expense of making this paragraph sound redundant);even me. If you were wondering, I am a 14 year old boy who has a strong personal relationship with God!

thatgirlyouknow	Well, I was never taught a religion but I think maybe your mom was just bitter about something in her past. I encourage you to keep your beliefs, or change them, because you know what? If there is a god, don't you think he'd want you to be happy? Your mom also may have just meant not to take good things for granted. Just relax :)

Laughing Libra	It's really bad to have a childhood in which it was taught not to trust other people or a deity (if that's your belief). You will more likely have to go through therapy to try to get those horrible lessons out of your psyche. And it's not a ridiculous question. Many people feel the same way.

vabom	Its okay ,dont fret !! things could have been much WORSE , believe me. Want to try something DIFFERENT ??? just do the following RIGHT NOW (it will answer your question on its own !!) ; 1--chant OM (OM as in HOME but without the 'H')repeatedly,forget everything just do it NOW !!!!!!! doing this for 5-10 mins will give a sense of power within you!!! if you find this useful let me know ,i will tell you a more stronger method. note: women durimg their periods are not to chant OM but they can chant HARI this i say to you on basis of teachings of 'param pujya ASARAMJI bapu' http://www.ashram.org http://www.hariomgroup.net http://www.hariomgroup.org http://hariomgroup.googlepages.com/rishi_prasad

artistically inclined one	I'm certain GOD doesn't want us to live in fear, instead GOD wants us to realize that in every decision we make theres an equal effect to it.Whether it be good or bad decision or action you're sure to expect either a good or bad result from such decision. You need not to worry about it, since you've been living a life, wherein everyday, you decide on almost evrything that you do, consciously or unconsciously. I think you shouldn't question GOD's reasons for creating us like who and what we are but I think you also have to talk to your mom, why she made you think like that..

lolcba	no the person who created god wants you to be in fear

Jon	The one who wants you to live in fear is the devil. there are good things that good has made but satin AKA the devil will go behind him and mess it all up with a bad thing. Listen too this audio bible before you go to church if would like to. im 14 with bipolar and have major mood swings and adhd and I had no way to change my behavior without him because of the way i was raised it says in there you can do nothing without his help sorry if it sounds like im preaching to you im just so excited cuzz i just fiqured out how to help myself and live a normal life and not be pissed off and have a attitude all the time www.audiotreasure.com

Lise Hahaha	Stop believing it. Cause its bull.

Lauren	He wants you to appreciate what you have. Sometimes bad things happen to good people but you just have to get over it because in the end you will be rewarded for your suffering. There is some type of fear element in that god wants you to fear going to hell because you should, so try and do whats right.

Somebody	God wants us to live a joyful life. It's not his plan for his people to walk around in life defeated. We are victorious through Him! You cannot spend your time worrying about tomorrow. Things will happen, for better or worse, and it's just part of life. You can't expect bad things to happen because it will keep you from living the life God has given you. If something gets you down pray about it, don't be defeated! Who of us by worrying can add even one hour to his life? The answer is no one. Worry gets you nowhere good. Live life in the now, not the tomorrow. Worry won't make bad things not happen, it will just make us miss the good things.

Super Saiyan Goku	No, God does not want us to live in fear, he wwants us to live in happiness and peace. Go to therapy and forget what your mother told you. Pray everyday, and tell a therapist about what your mother told you. If you every need help tell your therapist what is wrong. You do not need to live in fear, but live in happiness.

Steve	I'm agnostic, but there is one thing I'm sure of. If there is a god he is the last thing you should fear. If anything god is love unconditional. Please don't be afraid. The fear your mother had would have been created by here religion in order to control her and keep her in church. Everything has a place and everything is in it's place. Accept it for what it is, because one day you will die, and you don't want to remember a life ruined by fear.

repoclosing	All parents create some amount of fear but a few use fear to control children very unfairly. It is common enough but you eventually will see reality as the years come to pass.

letterstoheather	It's not a ridiculous question. We tend to live what we learn growing up, and this is probably the reasons for your fears. When we work for what we have, or when someone gives us something nice, well, i suppose we deserve to have the nice things we acquire. I'm sure you're a very nice, and DESERVING person. If this is affecting your daily life, maybe consider talking with a therapist? They usually have ways of helping us see things more clearly, and help us to work through our fears. You can move forward! I know it. take care, you deserve good things.

MISSYCARISSY4	OK.... no, God does not want us to live in fear. We should fear Him, because he is powerful and just. However, all those bad things that happen are because of sin. Maybe not something you do... but sin in general. Bad things will happen, just as good things will. You can't live like that though. Go to a church, and speak with the pastor. Life has a purpose.... and that purpose is not fear.

majnun99	I never heard it quite that way before. I have heard that we shouldn't become too dependant on the things of this world because they come and go. It's supposed to be good advice, it's not supposed to scare you. That seems kind of extreme to let something like that bother you. Is there someone you can talk to? Maybe an older person in your religious group; a person you respect? Look for people you know that you can talk to about it. If you've talked to several people and that doesn't help, maybe you should talk to a doctor.