We don’t just experience anxiety — we are sold it.
News cycles thrive on fear. Social media rewards outrage. Advertisers promise safety only through consumption. Anxiety has become currency, and our world is addicted to trading in it.
How the System Works
- Media: Bad news spreads faster than good; fear keeps you watching.
- Politics: Leaders exploit anxiety to gain loyalty.
- Commerce: Products are sold as shields against imagined disasters.
Every click, every headline, every ad disciples you into vigilance. And vigilance feels like control.
The Cost
A culture of anxiety doesn’t keep us safe — it keeps us enslaved.
We stay restless, suspicious, and exhausted. Peace becomes impossible when fear is profitable.
The Gospel Alternative
Jesus names anxiety as a false master:
“Do not be anxious about your life… your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” (Matthew 6:25, 32)
Trust disrupts the anxiety economy. Every act of peace is rebellion. Every Sabbath is protest. Every prayer of release is a refusal to buy what fear is selling.
Application
- Limit daily news intake.
- Replace anxious scrolling with a prayer walk.
- Celebrate one example of God’s past faithfulness this week.
Reflection
- Where do you most consume anxiety (media, work, relationships)?
- How can you disrupt that cycle today?
- What practice of trust could be your resistance?