I read this blog from FranklinCovey written by Scott Miller about the power of pre-forgiveness the other day. Although the intent of the blog was to show how people are more likely to raise their own performance standards in the workplace when pre-forgiveness is a part of their employment culture, I couldn’t help to notice the implications of the power fear has over us.
Here is what he said:
There was a cultural implication from working in a pre-forgiveness environment. It released everyone from the looming anxiety of fear. Fear of making a mistake. Fear of taking any risks. Fear of trying new things or stepping out beyond the norm. There was zero fear in this division. When your leader comes to you and acknowledges that you’re going to make mistakes, it’s like a massive weight is taken off your shoulders. It’s inevitable with growth that there will be misses. With projects, clients and your own associates. Whew. Thanks for the breathing room.
Scott Miller – The Power of Pre-Forgiveness
If you read this paragraph in a reverse form with the effects of fear as the focus, you see that fear causes anxiety, paralyzes our actions of doing anything that involves taking risks or trying new things, and adds a massive weight to us. Man, to me, that sounds like everything that stops our growth.
It is Satan’s plan to stop and slow our progression. I used to coach a softball team years ago. Anytime we were opposing a team that was obviously better than us and we just knew we weren’t going to win, it was my goal to simply make a mess of the other team – to just mess them up. So we would have fun playing an unpredictable game with confusing plays that didn’t always make sense in a traditional fashion. All of it was with the intent to just mess up the game of the opposing team and get in their heads. Satan does this exact thing to us! (I don’t enjoy comparing myself to Satan, btw, haha). Satan knows he loses in the end no matter what, so his only goal is to mess us all up. One of his big ticket tools is none other than fear.
Miller’s article continues on to tell of how employees raise their performance standards as a natural result of having these fear stressers released of them. Their performance actually increases. In our spiritual lives, how much greater would we live if we could be released of fear? How would your life change if you had no fear of living as you wished? Would you love more openly? Would you speak more honestly? Would you rejoice more publicly? I would do all of those things! If only, if only we could be released from fear. Well guess what, we have. Our loving Savior, Jesus Christ, has pre-forgiven us so that we could be released from it all. He wants us to live without fear. He wants us to love more openly. He wants us to speak more honestly (in a kind way, of course). He wants us to rejoice more publicly (let your light so shine…). He wants us to progress and to be full of joy.
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” – 1 John 4:18
It is only ourselves who holds us to the devastating grip of fear. How sad. Let go. Be free. “Fear not, little children, for you are mine …” D&C 50:41
Forever grateful to be His!
