Thursday 22 January 2026

Psalm 119:145-160

Background
There is a passage in the first letter to Timothy which is often misquoted. We say "money is the root of all evil" but the letter says this: "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil’ (1 Timothy 6:10). The real verse is much truer than the misquote, because the love of money can lead to much evil. But it is not the only thing that leads people to do wrong. Another big motivator for wrongdoing, for example, is fear.

The other day, I was in a staff training day for my job with Luther King College. We were learning about ‘the Enneagram' which is a way of viewing people as types according to their behaviour. It goes back to early Christianity. There are nine personality types, with a great deal of range and variation within each type, and each corresponds to a number on the Enneagram. Each type has a root fear and a root need. Apparently, number 6 (whose root fear is fear itself and whose root need is security above all things) is the most common in the Western world, and this can be seen in daily life, politics and in social media.

Each personality type has gifts as well, and we are all called to nurture our gifts and work on our weaknesses. We should not single out type 6 for unique criticism. For one thing, we all have our different fears, not only number 6s. It is healthy to fear real danger, but when we allow fears to take hold, we are all capable of great harm to others, ourselves and to God. This is why the passage for today which says "perfect love casts out fear" (v. 18) is so relevant.

When we let go and focus on God’s love and on trusting God, we can begin to be made perfect in love for others. Our key motivator will no longer be to protect ourselves from threats – immigrants, change, the internet, etc. We will be motivated above all by love, no matter who we come face to face with, or even how real the threat. In this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, may we be released from fear and be made perfect in our love not only for our siblings in Christ, but for all people.

To Ponder:

• All types of profiling personalities are tools and can be used alongside other tools to help us understand ourselves and others better. Have you come across the Enneagram before? Do you find it helpful?
• What is your biggest fear? Can you articulate that fear? Is it justified? Can you pray for help with your fears and anxieties?

Prayer
Lord God, please release us from our fears and help us to love as you love, trusting that our true security and freedom lies in you. Amen.

Bible notes author: Ruth Wilde
Ruth Wilde is a lay pastor at Emmanuel URC/Methodist church in Redditch, Worcestershire. She works in that role four days a week and spends one day a week as Tutor for the Inclusion of Disabled People and Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at Luther King Theological College. She was previously National Coordinator of the charity Inclusive Church, for which she edited the book How to Build the Church of the Future (SCM Press).