Emmanuel Lutheran Church

THE NEED FOR SCAPEGOATS by Karen Minnich-Sadler
Human history is filled with fear. Sometimes it’s those in power who stir up fear, directing it to their own ends, but we’re all guilty of it at one time or another.

Stirring up fear in others can make us feel powerful. If we fear something, we want others to fear it, too. This is human nature. What we don’t usually do is intentionally look within to see what wound might be feeding our fear.

I’m now more cautious about listening to those who have a need to constantly broadcast the negative, manipulating it for their own use. Wherever the information is coming from, I now question everything. In the past, I reacted before I thought. This cost me a lot in terms of energy and peace.

We’re living in a season of scapegoating at many levels. We need to stop blaming the scapegoats and call into question the ones who are generating the negativity. We need to see from a higher perspective so we can discern the processes, the causes and effects.

When people intentionally craft stories to stir up chaos and fear, I believe they must be very poor in spirit. They’ve a need to feel powerful at the expense of others. There’s a part of me that feels compassion for them, for they’re not using their gifts in service to the Divine and are missing so much of what this life could teach them. That is quite a loss. Can you imagine what good they might accomplish if they directed their energy to higher purposes?

There’s a lot of negativity being generated from every side of every story, but I can choose not to participate. My soul energy is better directed elsewhere, so I’ve started to pray healing grace into everything I read and every newscast I hear. This is the only antidote I have to the fear and negativity that want to own me. I’ll not become like those who hunt for scapegoats; nor will I allow them power over my spirit. I may not be able to change the world but this I can do: I can serve as a channel for God’s grace however I find to do that.