"Don't bet against the American people."

- Joe Biden in a speech at the Democratic National Convention, extoling the steadfast resilience of the American character.

"You ought to feel optimistic about this country. Because it can be better. You can make it better."

- Hubert Humphrey. Late Senator from Minnesota.

Many of you should remember the Millennium bug of the year 2000. It was a supposed virus that would infect and disable all electronic devices.

In 1999 there were cries of doom and much hoopla because the computers were all going to crash once we changed from the 90's to 2000.

The government would be shuttered, services that depended upon computers would be non-existent, even your favorite supermarket shelves would be empty so everyone should stockpile staples to avoid starvation due to the impending catastrophe.

More recently, December 21, 2012 should have ushered in the end of the world.

In 2014, according to some, the "the train wreck" of the affordable health care act is going to see people die because of "death panels"(misnomer for a group organized to rein in health costs) and the country is going to be bankrupt because of the cost. Ahead of us, they warn, is looming disaster and calamity.

Time will tell.

Life will teach you that, more often than not, things are never as bad as they seem nor turn out as predicted by unreliable, unfaithful men.

An authentic statement from God, however, is another matter entirely .It is written in stone with an iron pen backed by an irrevocable guarantee. It is or will prove to be absolutely, positively reliable, dependable and true.

Mitt Romney, questioning the work ethic of 47 percent of the American people and Jason Richwine dismissing the IQ of Hispanic Americans, were employing the most effective weapon in the arsenal of satan, sowing the seed of fear.

Now, before I proceed any further, I must allow place for discernment, discretion, prudence, caution and common sense; but the recent news of renown Bishop William Henry Murphy III pastor "packin" is not one of them.

Moreover, the extreme measures practiced in the world today are psychotic, demonic and ungodly.

Yes, I agree, the Bible does say fear God, but there is a vast difference between fearing God and fearing satan and this temporary condition.

Fearing God fosters wisdom and engenders respect and reverence for the Almighty. He has our best interests at heart and his loving power and grace cause us to ascend to great acts and noble deeds.

Fearing satan paralyzes you and turns you into a hopeless chaff of a human being.

Tossed to and fro wary even of criticism you:

say nothing,

do nothing,

and become nothing.

Nothing is more deleterious to the well-being of a community, culture, race people or nation than the crippling effects of fear.

It conflicts with and denies the intrinsic nature of who you are as the greatest miracle of God.

It attempts to twist and damage the basic structure of your spiritual DNA.

Lest you have forgotten, I will remind you once again.

All human beings were created equal and in the image of God.

He instructed you:

"Be fruitful and multiply, subdue the earth and have dominion OVER it."

He advised you:

"I did not give you the spirit of fear but of power of love and of a sound mind."

He admonished you:

"You more than a conqueror."

Since innovation and creativity are in your genes and an integral part of your makeup, out of all God's creations you are the only one:

who can change

who can adapt

who can alter his circumstances

who can adjust his environment

who can determine his destiny.

I am reminded of an old lady's response to Jesus’ statement, "The poor will always be amongst us."

"True, she replied, but they do not always have to be the same poor."

Deep within all of us, implanted by God is the ability to make a difference and improve our chances.

However, many of us are swayed by what we see, hear and feel so we give in to our fears (or phobias according to the upwardly mobile, erudite, sophisticated suburbanite) so the business of fear is becoming an "exploding" industry.

We fear the natural state and order of things. Therefore, capitalizing on that emotion has made Ultra Sheen, wig merchants, Hair Club for Men, and Mary Kay multi-million dollar companies.

We fear break-ins, so we install burglar alarms and live in homes surrounded by burglar bars, armed to the teeth with weapons of mass destruction.

We fear breakdowns so we purchase cell phones and obtain AAA insurance.

We fear breakups so we buy her on time, that expensive piece of jewelry, the one we can ill afford, or we surrender to him our virginity and grudgingly settle for Mr. Right Now instead of waiting for Mr. Right.

We continue, pressed by our own dread, to enrich therapists, psychologists, psychics and plastic surgeons.

We become captives of our own thoughts and victims of our own imaginations.

Living "under" a cloud of foreboding and terror words like:

overcoming

getting over

victory over

triumphing over

stepping over

crossing over

become strange to us and we become accustomed to being that forlorn failure in the wilderness we worried so much about.

We become suspicious of anyone or anything that is worthwhile, wealthy or successful and undermine any act or person that seeks to move upwards and onwards.

Listen again to what Mr. Marley, notwithstanding his lifestyle, for even a broken clock is right two times a day, recorded:

"Get Up. Stand up for your right.Emancipate yourself from mental slavery."

Like the prodigal,you find and return to yourself amidst the filth among the pigs and determine:

"I will arise and go unto my father for there you will find comfort, security, safety, purpose, protection and provision.

So the question arises, "Do you remain stuck in the quicksand and culture of fear or lift up your mind and disregard that evil report?”

Where should you go?

Which way do you turn?

On the one hand, you have the world, the flesh and the devil roaring up and down throughout the earth seeking to devour and destroy you.

Their despicable intent is to exploit you, use up all your resources, then drag you to hell.

On the other hand, there is a loving Creator whose plans toward you are for a good, successful and prosperous future.

He assures you this day as he assured David of yesterday that he does not slumber nor sleep and power and mercy belong unto Him.

He encourages you that even if your mother and father forsake you, He will never leave you.

He promises, He will give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee, they shall bear you up, lest at any time you should dash your foot against a stone.

A thousand may fall at thy side and ten thousand at thy right hand but the pestilence that walketh at noon day or the destruction that wasteth at night shall never come near thy dwelling.

"I got this,” He swears, as you fearlessly embark on the journey that is the first day of the rest of your life.

V. Knowles is a husband and father with an interest in penning issues that serve to uplift mankind. He melds his love for Classic literature, The Bible and pop culture - as sordid as it may be - into highly relatable columns of truth, faith and justice. Hence the name: Just Thinking. If he's not buried in a book or penning his next column, you may find him pinned to his sectional watching a good old Country and Western flick.