My Proposal: A New Sin (Hardly Original)

The last thing I want to do, especially during this season of Lent, long used to make people feel flawed and failed, is to lay a new source of guilt on anyone. But bear with me, as I propose a new sin---solely for the purpose of having people steer away from treacherous waters.

I propose a new sin, one that should be the "ultra-cardinal" sin. That sin is FEAR. After "loving God and one's neighbor", "BE NOT AFRAID" is Jesus' top command. He says it often enough to His disciples. Experts say it appears throughout the Bible, including variations, between 200 and 300 times. It is said to Mary at the Annunciation,to the shepherds at the Nativity, to the women at the tomb on Easter Morning.

Here is a quote that says it better than I can:

“Be not afraid” does not mean we cannot have fear. Everyone has fear, and people who embrace the call to leadership often find fear abounding. Instead, the words say we do not need to be the fear we have. We have places of fear inside us, but we have other places as well----- places with names like trust and hope and faith.
We can choose to lead from one of those places, to stand on ground that is not riddled with the fault lines of fear.”
-----Parker J. Palmer