Punishment or Being Perfected!

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. ~ 1 John 4:18

I have been contemplating this verse a lot lately and really tried to understand and remember that I don't need to fear for I have God's people seem to think that through punishment one builds character which makes us better people. It kinda makes sense... right? That's what we were taught... right? "You are grounded!"... 'Why?'... "Because, you are being punished for...(insert offense)"
That is the best way to motivate someone to change... isn't it? I think not! Think about it this way. When you do something wrong and are punished for it... What really motivates you to change? Fear! But not only that... when fear motivates us we focus on what not to do! Rather than teaching us to learn what is right and walk in it, We are being taught to learn what is wrong and attempt to avoid it because when you fall out of line it isn't gonna be pretty. So we spend our lives paralyzed by fear thinking that this is the way life is supposed to be. We just take the cards we are dealt by the enemy and instead of turning in a bad card we hold onto it because we fear the consequences of asking the dealer for a new card... even when it is within your power to win... You put on a happy face and try to play a losing game. In the end the enemy just took more than your money but also more power.

God has called us into a lifestyle of love and trust. A life of learning Him and focusing on Him... So that we could live our lives without fear... but in complete trust of Him no matter how bad the circumstances may be... When you are focused on Him, His love for you washes away any fear that tries to come in and steal your focus. Because stealing the focus from God is one of the enemy's ultimate goals. Because what we behold is what we become. Mind your focus... Even when you focus on what you don't want to be... Ultimately because that is what holds your focus it is what you become most like. Whatever you spend most of your time thinking about you are probably going to be the most like. If it is not God remember that it is replacing Him and therefore becoming a god in your mind.

I love y'all! ~ Alicia