Wisdom based?

What if I were young again and joined the military? And then they sent me off to war and provided me with a helmet, bulletproof vest, and a gun for protection. Before going they also gave me classes and even field training on how to keep myself alive while in the battlefield. If I used all of these “tools” that were provided for my protection, would that be fear based?

When I put a fence around my yard to keep my young kids inside where I know they can play safely, is that fear based?

If I use a seat belt in my car, is that fear based? Yeah, I know that it’s “law”, but is doing so fear based?

If I put my small grandchild in a car seat, is that fear based?

If I pray and ask God for protection as we drive to our destination or that we will arrive safely, is that prayer fear based?

What if I lock up my guns in a gun safe, is doing so based in fear?

There are some pretty strong cleaning chemicals under our kitchen sink. If I put a locking device on that cabinet door to keep the little ones out, is that fear based?

We just got back from Yellowstone National Park. There were all kinds of signs telling us to stay on the paths as the ground wasn’t stable, the water was scalding, and falling down the cliff wouldn’t be good for our health. Was all of that fear based?

I’ve said this before, but what was Paul thinking when he wrote this in Ephesians:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Our “war” in this mortality is also against spiritual forces, powers, and rulers of darkness. If I use the tools that the Lord Jesus Christ has given me to help in this battle, is that fear based?

Of course all of the above can be based in fear. Heck, some people live their life in a way that could be called “fear based.” Does that mean they shouldn’t live?

Some people have told me that they live in a constant state of love and they don’t need the tools given by God to protect themselves from spiritual evil. Good for them I say. Though I do wonder what was wrong with our Savior during his mortality. I’ve talked with several of the people I know that have witnessed all of His life and they both said that He used the tools his Father gave Him to protect Himself. He even used, dare it say it, “shielding.” I was hesitant to say such a thing because many people are so stiff necked and hard hearted that things of faith are an anathema to them. Nearly everything must be based in logic and be found in the scriptures or it isn’t so. That’s not the world I have lived in the past 17 years. That wasn’t the world that Joseph Smith encountered when he found two Heavenly Beings standing before him. It became a world of faith to Joseph, where many things encountered were definitely outside his box. He became a Seer, seeing things others could not dream of, only to find that he had to keep his mouth shut because of others unbelief and fear.

Can shielding keep you safe? Ask a good friend of mine that participated in a “cleansing” of a man at my home. I never asked him if he had shielded himself and when the entity was cast out of the other man it jumped into my friend. He suffered because of it.

Now I have another good friend that used “shielding” to protect himself and his son from mosquitoes a few years ago at a Scout camp. I wonder if he did that out of fear. Or maybe he was tired of being bitten and then itching all day and night? Was it fear based when I shielded my car and the deer was scooted away from the front middle of it? Or was it something else. I have no fear of hitting a deer, ask my wife. I drive the same speed at night as I do during the day. Was it fear based when I shielded my home when the people did satanic rituals against us, directing dark/evil satanic energy at us every Wednesday night? I didn’t fear them or what they were doing. But I did want to protect my family.

Or might all of these things be “based” in wisdom? Is it not wisdom when going into a physical battle or a spiritual battle to use all the tools our Savior provides for us? It does not have to be fear based. When I shield myself, home, and property, it is not done in fear of any kind. It is done in wisdom, knowing there is a war going on, as even Paul declared, and I want to do my best to keep my family, which is my stewardship, safe as I possibly can. I prefer to keep what is fighting against us outside of my stewardship. I don’t fear them in the least. When I saw the evil god called “Source” outside my property, I looked at him with curiosity and some wonderment at how ugly he had made himself appear to be and how he was trying to intimidate me with his “stature and ugliness.” Pretty funny.

Is it not wisdom to respect your enemy by knowing them, what they can do, or are capable of? If you don’t, how will you overcome them? How will you stop them?

I know that ALL we do should be based in the Lord Jesus Christ. If we do that there is no need for fear. Using the tools He gives us is not based in fear, it is based in wisdom. Do some people do things based in fear? Probably. Is it better to do it that way rather than not do it at all? I don’t know, ask our Savior. Though I would rather my children or others use the tools of our Savior in fear than to not use them at all. Is that the ideal? Probably not. But we live in a hellish world where we seldom see the ideal. Perhaps there have been times in the past where I have used a tool, like shielding, in fear. Did God condemn me because of that, or was it just part of MY learning curve?

Does even God use words like “endless torment” and “eternal damnation” to impress upon our minds the importance of what He is saying, maybe even using “fear” to “make it more express than other scriptures“? We read the words endless and eternal and it strikes fear in our hearts and perhaps we become better because of it? But that doesn’t mean it will last forever. Check out D&C 19.

Finally, in my church we present newborn babies before our Heavenly Father giving them a name and a blessing. I have heard a great many of these in my past and most of them ask our Father to bless the child, to make her/him grow up strong in body and spirit. There are many other things asked of our God in behalf of these babies. Is this done in fear? We are asking our Father to bless and take care of them among many other things, even to keeping them safe.

Is this any different than us asking our Savior to place a shield of protection made of His love around us or our family whom we have stewardship over? I don’t believe so.

It would be great if we all learned to do all things based in the Lord Jesus Christ, with wisdom and understanding, so that we too, like Paul said, will be able to withstand the evil day, and having done all, to stand. I hope we all learn to use what He has given us, even a shield of faith. I know that angels use shields and swords when they go into battle. Might we not want to do the same?

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;