Pastor Breaks Down How to Combat the ‘Fear Virus’ When Culture Has ‘Lost the Fear of God’

Ed Young, senior pastor of Fellowship Church, is on a mission to help people combat the “fear virus,” warning that many today have “lost the fear of God” and that humanity suffers from “a systemic sin issue.”

Young, who recently published a new book, “The Fear Virus: Vaccinating Yourself Against Life's Greatest Phobias,” appeared on the “Edifi With Billy Hallowell” podcast, where he spoke about fear and consternation in the era of coronavirus.  

“Our culture has lost the fear of God,” he said, going on to explain that “fear” in this context is more about respect than anything else. “I’m talking about having that awe, that reverence — putting God in the position that He’s supposed to be in in our lives and in our world.”

“Edifi With Billy Hallowell” is the official podcast of Edifi, a new Christian podcast app that aggregates the best faith-inspiring Christian podcasts across a variety of subjects (download the app today). 

Young went on to say that fear is something everyone deals with, but that our reverence for God should help us cope with the depths of uncertainty. 

“If we fear God, then we shouldn’t fear anything,” he said. “But if we don’t fear God, we should fear everything.”

Part of the problem with culture, Young said, is that there has been a focus placed on the self instead of on the Lord — a recipe for disarray (listen to Young’s entire interview here on the Edifi app).

“When I look inside myself and when I put myself at the center of my life, then chaos and absurdity rules,” he said. “And that’s what we’re seeing in our culture — chaos, chaos, chaos.”

Young said people need to open up to God’s plans for their lives, to embrace truth and to be willing to tell others what that truth entails.

“The vaccine starts with God,” Young said of fear. “It starts with the great physician.”

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