The Opposite of Fear

When asked what the opposite of fear is, I replied "love" (as in "perfect love casts out all fear" ~ 1 John 4:18). Now he didn't come out and say I was wrong, but it was obviously not the answer he was looking for. He believed the correct answer is hope. I didn't argue. Instead I mulled it over. After much thought, I still think I was right. Hope in and of itself is not necessarily a good thing. The first "mis"-quote that came to mind was "Hope can kill a man." The real quote is:

Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.  ~ Red (Shawshank Redemption)

 Now, I am not advocating that you develop your life philosophy on Hollywood quotes, but there is some truth to that. Hoping in the wrong things will absolutely drive a man insane. If we put our hope in anything of this world, we will ultimately be disappointed. Nothing lasts forever. We can lose our wealth, health, family, friends... hoping in any of these things will likely not lead to freedom from fear. Rather, hoping in somthing that is not sure give a person more to worry about - adding to already present fears.

Love, on the other hand - true, unconditional love - provides unparalelled comfort and safety. Even earthly love empowers people to strive for greatness and accomplish more than they ever thought possible. Like the lyrics to the pop song Because You Loved Me:

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith 'cuz you believed
I'm everything I am because you loved me.

~ Celine Dion

How much more does the love of God do that for us?
Still others may say courage is the opposite of fear. To that I would reply with a well-known quote:

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.  ~ Hollingworth

So back to my original statement, I still believe that the opposite of fear is love.