Heights, spiders, snakes and roller coasters are some of the more common physical things that give rise to fear and can drive people to all kinds of irrational behavior. The “fight or flight” response may cause someone to be combative or run away. Other fears aren’t as obvious, but just as real, like loneliness, change, failure, rejection or being judged. People respond in unpredictable ways to those as well like unexpectedly yelling at others, breaking down in tears or getting physically ill.
It’s no secret that the underlying cause of many violent crimes is also fear, but what causes the fear to begin with? One source may come as something of a surprise. There is an unlikely partnership between discontentment and fear.
1 Samuel 17 records the account of David slaying Goliath, the enemy of Israel. He won a great victory for the nation and for its king, Saul. Yet, by the end of the next chapter Saul had committed himself to murdering David due to a discontentment-driven fear.
People were singing songs that praised Saul, but elevated David even more. Verse 15 reads, “And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him.” The success of another drove him to jealousy then to fear.
It went from bad to worse when Saul’s daughter fell in love with David. “Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually” (1 Sam. 17:29). Despite being publicly praised and personally benefitting from David’s conquests, Saul, driven by a discontentment-fueled fear, wanted to kill him.
Saul is an example of how the Evil One uses discontent to produce ungodly fear. When discontentment fully grows into sinful fear, it seeks to bring forth death. It is the same tactic that the Adversary used with the religious leaders in Jesus’ day.
Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what He did, believed in Him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” (Jn. 11:45–48)
Jesus’ miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead caused the chief priests, Pharisees and council to call for a meeting. They needed to discuss the attention Jesus’ signs and wonders were drawing away from them, which led to anxiety over losing their social status. Their discontentment-driven fear united them into a cause. “So from that day on they made plans to put [Jesus] to death” (Jn. 11:53).
Have you considered that an internal feeling of discontentment can blossom into a fear that leads to outward, hurtful action? Proverbs 19:23 describes how God flips that around. “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.” A godly, healthy form of fear is the fear of the Lord. Trusting in the all-powerful God results in being “satisfied,” which is the opposite of discontentment. That kind of satisfaction leads to “life” and not irrational, violent results. Further, they will “not be visited by harm.” This is reiterated in Proverbs 29:25. “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”
Where discontentment and fear may be strange bedfellows, their opposites—satisfaction and confidence, are inseparable companions. Contentment with what God is doing in your life leads to assurance. Assurance prevents unwise action.
If you find yourself struggling with fear, then dig deeper. Is it possible that your fear is the result of discontentment? Are you anxious over money because you’re concerned you may go without a need, or because you might not get what you want? Does your fear of being a failure correspond with a fear of the Lord or a fear of man?
Ask God to reveal the source of your fears so you can deal with them biblically. If you struggle with fear built on discontentment, here’s a good start. Follow the psalmist’s instruction to redirect your fear of man to trust in God.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? (Ps. 56:3–4)