I marvel at people who take pride in instilling fear in others. Some have black pickups trucks with skulls and threatening slogans. Others go out of their way to make it clear they are worthy of fear. They may yell, swear and are more than ready for a fight.
While I have yet to see someone have their teeth surgically altered with vampire fangs, I’ve heard such stories over the years of people altering their appearance in order to look threatening. It can be a power play. They may think, “If you fear me, I gain power and respect.”
If that is their thing, so be it. Halloween will give them plenty of options to do that, if even for one evening this week. Instilling fear in others may work for a while, but it isn’t a good long term solution. Fear wears off. It forces the one instilling fear to raise the stakes (poor choice of words for a vampire!). When people call their bluff, they have to be more scarier to get the same result.
It is much better to attain respect by being encouraging and showing kindness. Fear motivation makes everyone feel worse, including the one dishing it out. Motivation through hope, encouragment and faith goes much further and inspires others to greater heights.
