Fear in the hearts of the Romans and those appointed by the Romans to be in power over the oppressed people of Israel. Fear of losing that power over the people and the fear of goodness and truth lead to the Crucifixion. That is a common phrase in the Bible. I looked it up on the computer. Fear lies beneath so much of the anger and verbal and physical violence in our world.
Fear is very, very important.
Being alive can bring joy, but it can also bring fear. It can bring fear because during our lives we must wrestle with or expend spiritual energy avoiding issues of sin and repentance and suffering and death. And we must also wrestle with the temptation to become cynical. Cynicism, I think, is a growth industry in our culture today. I think it is safe to invest stock in it for some time to come.