Who is your spiritual boogieman?

God is bigger than the boogieman
He’s bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV
Oh, God is bigger than the boogieman
And he’s watching out for you and me

If you were a fan of VeggieTales, a children’s Christian education show created in the early 90s, you remember this song. It’s been stuck in my head for the last couple of months. I don’t know if it’s because, as I’m learning to be a father, I’ve been reminiscing on my childhood and upbringing. Or, it could be that my brain is in a perpetual state of chaos. Either way, this song has been on repeat in my mind for a while now.

As I’ve been thinking about these lyrics, while I assume they were written to help children work through their fears of potential threats under the bed and in the closet during bedtime, I can’t help but think that there might really be more truth to this boogieman thing.

Before you totally check out and call me crazy for ruminating on singing vegetables, hear me out. I think we all face our own monsters.

This has caused me to ask some questions, specifically from a faith perspective: First, who or what is your spiritual boogieman? And most importantly, why is this fear keeping you from seeing the fullness of God?

To answer those questions myself, I’m afraid of not belonging or not having a place at the table. I’m afraid the deconstruction of my faith will isolate me and push me further away from community. I’m scared that who I am will disqualify me from participating in meaningful, spiritual discussions. I’m terrified of church people that are so ready to condemn me to the depths of Hell for what they perceive about my personhood.

Who is your spiritual boogieman?

Is it a woman preaching in the pulpit on Sunday? Is it the family member that always has Fox News on the TV? Is it the people with darker melanin shouting “Black Lives Matter!” in the streets? Is it the people wearing T-shirts with “pro-life” messages? Is it a face mask? Is it the neighbors who just put a Pride flag on their front porch? Is it the woman you saw at the grocery store wearing a hijab? Is it gun rights activists? Is it a transgender man writing down his thoughts about God?

Who is your spiritual boogieman? And, why is this fear keeping you from seeing the fullness of God?

Many of us are rooted in the beliefs we were taught as a child. We were taught something is right or wrong and that it was an ironclad statement or belief. When something challenges our beliefs, the core of our being rattles. Fear demands a response from us. Fight or flight. Many times, that response is in anger, hatefulness, or toxicity, because, “How dare you tell me I’m wrong!” We can also respond to fear out of willful ignorance. We choose not to learn more about why fear is there in the first place. Avoidance seems to be the answer. If we block it out, it doesn’t exist.

But doesn’t that, in turn, make you someone else’s boogieman? Someone to be afraid of? Someone that will shut out any other possibilities life has to offer?

Let’s backtrack a bit. What in the world is a boogieman? According to Wikipedia, “The Bogeyman… also spelled boogeyman, bogyman, bogieman, boogie monster, boogie man, or boogie woogie) is a type of mythical creature used by adults to frighten children into good behavior.”

Did you catch that? Mythical. IT’S MADE UP! That’s how I think we can interpret many of our fears. They are manufactured because we don’t want to deal with the unknown or the potential for something different to exist. Instead, we use harmful tactics to control other people into believing the same things we do or punish them if they don’t fall in line.

So what’s the answer? Go back and listen to the VeggieTales song again.

God is bigger.

God is bigger than your homophobia and transphobia. God is bigger than racism. God is bigger than pointed political messages. God is bigger than your hatred. God is bigger than your fear.

Why is this fear keeping you from seeing the fullness of God?

Once we realize how we’ve conditioned and controlled our minds (and frankly the minds of others) into fearful behavior, we must change something. But, what does that look like?

I once had someone tell me that because of the changes in my beliefs and my personal character, I caused them to question their own beliefs about God. At the time, I know they meant it as an insult because they were angry with me about the changes I was making in my life. For them, I was the reason they were “losing faith” in God. I didn’t have a response for them in that moment (um… fear). Looking back, I wish I could have told them that it was a good thing their beliefs were being challenged. That’s the only way I was able to get to the healthier place I am now. I share this example because I still have a relationship with this person. Slowly, this person has become a little more openminded. And in that openmindedness, their behaviors and beliefs have become less scary and less harmful. Are they the picture of perfect change? No. And neither am I! I have learned so much through that relationship of what it means to meet someone halfway.

As I said earlier, we are all rooted in beliefs we picked up from a very early age. I think the hurdle a lot of us face is not knowing how to respond to each other’s fear when those core beliefs are challenged. So, how do we do that?

God is bigger than our fears. And God is Love. The Bible says, “…perfect love casts out all fear.”

“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

We learn how to love each other through relationships, through conversation, through openness. We try. We fail. We try again. Perfect Love casts out all fear.

You might ask, “what does this Love look like?”

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.”

We are ALL created in the image of our Creator. God created so much diversity in this world. It would be a shame to miss out on it. In order to experience the beautiful things God created, we must work together to alleviate our fears.

Perfect LOVE cast out all fear.