so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered, ‘Evil and lazy slave! So you knew that I harvest where I didn’t sow and gather where I didn’t scatter? Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received my money back with interest!…And throw that worthless slave into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” Matthew 25:25-27, 30 NET https://bible.com/bible/107/mat.25.25-30.NET

Fear is no excuse for disobedience to the Lord. God has promised that He will provide us with a Spirit of power, not fear. Failure to execute His will because of our fear of what people might do or think of us is to incur His wrath at the Judgment. The church has lived too long in fear of public opinion and too little in fear of God. Jesus, God in the flesh, told us not to fear those who can only kill the body but fear Him, Who alone can cast soul and body to hell. We who belong to the Father through the Son are the children of God entrusted to complete the work of God, which is the building of the kingdom of God upon the earth as it is in heaven. The Great Commission is the mission of every Christian to be fulfilled in our homes, our cities, and the world. Each of us has a role to play, people to whom we are connected and who need Jesus. Some have greater talent, but all are required to participate in the work God has given to His people. Fear is not an excuse for failure to do the will of God. Faith is the opposite of fear. Faith is doing what God commands regardless of our feelings of fear. Faith is driven by love for God and love for others greater than love for self. Fear is love for self greater than love for God and others, causing us to protect ourselves rather than to give ourselves, which is the effect of love. We cannot protect ourselves from the Judgment to come, but we can give ourselves away to His work and receive the reward of God to come.