Actually fear is not a sin. In fact we Christians have been called to fear our God many a times. However, there is a divide in fear, one zone being that of healthiness, the other into the realm of unhealthiness and there is where sin lurks to pounce on us. I’ll talk about healthy fear first.
In the zone of healthy fear, our trembling is actually steeped in humility, reverence and awe, of this bigger greater being out there, acknowledging that while we may have been endowed with freewill by Him, we must never ever forget how small we are in the big picture. We are also grounded in an unwavering steadfast faith and trust in Him, that He and us are aligned no matter what, despite our freewill. Then, what happens in the realm of unhealthy fear? In the realm of unhealthy fear, doubts creep in, like rats gnawing away at that faith and trust. When our faith and trust teeters on the end of vulnerability and fragility, we panic for whatever control that we can over others and perhaps more importantly ourselves, and then sin starts its attack on us.
Ok, please do not groan. Yes, it is OUAT example time again. The character that I’ve chosen to support my argument this time round, is Rumplestiltskin aka Mr Gold. I am personally highly sympathetic towards this character’s plight, as I find all the motivations behind whatever decisions he makes very logical and understandable, though of course disagreeing in retrospect due to my identity an audience member. First, his fear of following in his father’s footsteps of being a selfish and cowardly parent propels him to make the hasty decision of turning into the Dark One by preserving his life and not having to serve military duty for the Ogre wars. Next, he was too afraid of being unforgiven by his son Bae (Neal), that he eventually lost Bae to the portal accident. After this, he painstakingly manipulates so many members in various realms to pave the way for his reunion with Neal, but that too eventually goes tragically wrong. Following Neal’s death, his fear of losing his only other loved one Belle, drove him to hold onto his powers as the Dark One, as a kind of safety net to ensure her continued presence by him. This move backfired again when Belle finally realised the truth of his deception, could not bring herself to forgive him anymore, leaving him as of Season 4B. Still stubborn, he even goes into cahoots with the Queens of Darkness and the vindictive author, in a bid to forcibly thrust a happy ending upon himself, which ultimately leaves him to end up back at square one all over again, while dragging many other characters into next season’s mayhem.
Rumple’s predicament stems from the continuous cycle of fear of inability to behave befittingly as a father and a husband, leading him to always try to rely on other greater but darker forces to assist him in his needs. What he hopes for are very noble, but the insecurity of past failures be it of his father’s and his own, blinds him to his hidden potential for doing great things out of love for those he cares about. As we see in season two’s finale when he valiantly sacrificed his life in a bid to secure that of Bae and the rest of the town, he definitely possesses more than enough capability to accomplish great and noble deeds, once he totally isolates his actions from fear, thus ensuring the deeds are completely motivated by godly love.
As news has been announced that next season will begin its broadcast in September, I’m eagerly looking forward to Rumple’s realisation that his biggest enemy is himself, but so too is his biggest ally. I wish this character all the best in his journey towards redemption and love.
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything
in love.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NIV)
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