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Jesus and Lao Tzu: Living Without Fear

Jesus and Lao Tzu: Living Without Fear

Last updated on: July 1, 2026 at 2:46 pm by Gregory T. Smith

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Jesus and Lao Tzu: Living Without Fear 2026-07-01T14:46:53-08:00 Gregory T. Smith

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What if divine protection isn’t about escaping danger, but learning to walk through the world without being ruled by fear?

Image created by Gregory T. Smith on OpenAI.

Psalm ninety-one is known as the Soldier’s Psalm. Many New Testaments given to troops on the front lines have this psalm highlighted, marked, or specially printed on the fly leaf. Fighters often go into battle, trusting this verse for protection. It’s been read at hospital bedsides, taped to dashboards, and prayed by parents over their kids, because on the surface it sounds absolute. To show the weight people put on this kind of text, here it is in full:

You who live in the shelter of the Most High,

    who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,

will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;

    my God, in whom I trust.”

For he will deliver you from the snare of the hunter

    and from the deadly pestilence;

he will cover you with his pinions,

    and under his wings you will find refuge;

    his faithfulness is a shield and defense.

You will not fear the terror of the night

    or the arrow that flies by day

or the pestilence that stalks in darkness

    or the destruction that wastes at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

    ten thousand at your right hand,

    but it will not come near you.

You will only look with your eyes

    and see the punishment of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord your refuge,

    the Most High your dwelling place,

no evil shall befall you,

    no scourge come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you

    to guard you in all your ways.

On their hands they will bear you up,

    so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.

You will tread on the lion and the adder;

    the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

Those who love me, I will deliver;

    I will protect those who know my name.

When they call to me, I will answer them;

    I will be with them in trouble;

    I will rescue them and honor them.

With long life I will satisfy them

    and show them my salvation.

What Is the Psalm Promising?

It can be comforting to think God is protecting you, even in the most dangerous times. What soldier joining battle wouldn’t want to believe themselves resistant to bullets and bayonets? Yet how many slain soldiers are found with this scripture in their pockets? Clearly, the Bible does not actually promise automatic, universal divine defense, so the psalm must be pointing to something deeper than physical invincibility. What is it actually promising? How do we read protection passages without sliding into superstition or blame-the-victim theology?

What Does the Tao Promise?

This is where the Tao helps. It doesn’t promise invincibility; it describes how life tends to go for people who are walking in harmony. Similar to the psalm, verse thirty-five of the Tao Te Ching mentions special protection. But far from being a promise of ultimate invincibility, the sage’s words observe an overall tendency towards peace and safety, for those who follow the Tao.

Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, Verse 35, McDonald Version

She who follows the way of the Tao

will draw the world to her steps.

She can go without fear of being injured,

because she has found peace and tranquility in her heart.

Where there is music and good food,

people will stop to enjoy it.

But words spoken of the Tao

seem to them boring and stale.

When looked at, there is nothing for them to see.

When listened for, there is nothing for them to hear.

Yet if they put it to use, it would never be exhausted.

Walking in Balance

Following the flow of nature means walking in balance. Those who walk in balance are less likely to trip and fall. Those whose relationships are balanced are less likely to offend others. Balanced people make fewer enemies. Those whose work is balanced are less likely to experience accidents. Those who work in tune with their own spirit will be more in harmony with the elements of creation. This is the Taoist concept of protection: living so in tune that you keep missing the worst collisions.

For Jesus this balance meant being able to speak to the wind and the waves and calm the storm. It meant walking on water rather than sinking down. It meant having his taxes miraculously paid for by a coin found in the fish’s mouth. These aren’t just showpieces; they’re snapshots of a life so aligned with God that creation cooperates. When you walk in balance, everything just tends to work out.

Balanced Relationships

This balance has an influence in your relationships as well. People are drawn to the peace and the tranquility you have in your heart. If Jesus had never spoken a single word people would still be attracted to him because of his harmony with the Tao. Make no mistake, people don’t always know what the attraction is all about. As the prophet said, “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” Isaiah reminds us that spiritual gravity doesn’t depend on physical impressiveness. There was simply something about Jesus that drew people in: his groundedness, compassion, and alignment with God’s Way. So it is with those in tune with the Tao. And this harmony with the universe results in a certain amount of safety.

Being Salt and Light

In the next lines, Lao Tzu seems to switch gears, talking about celebration and cuisine: “Where there is music and good food, people will stop to enjoy it.” This reminds the reader of Jesus’s attractiveness. People just wanted to be around him. Then, the sage continues: “But words spoken of the Tao seem to them boring and stale. When looked at, there is nothing for them to see. When listened for, there is nothing for them to hear. Yet if they put it to use, it would never be exhausted.” That’s the paradox: people wanted to be near Jesus, but they didn’t always understand him. For many, his parables were just good storytelling. Yet, because their hearts were stale, they missed the meaning of eternal life.

Jesus wanted his followers to be salt and light in the world. Salt makes food better, but the best cooking doesn’t leave a salty taste on the tongue. Salt enhances the food but used in the right measure it doesn’t dominate anything. Sprinkled into a stew, for example, salt disappears entirely. It brings out the natural flavor of everything around it, without drawing attention to itself. Jesus told his followers to be like this.

Not much to look at, nothing to see: followers of Jesus are meant to enhance the flavor of the world around them. Never calling attention to ourselves, we become the secret ingredient that draws out the natural flavor and makes everything better. Followers of the Tao shouldn’t strive to make the world taste Taoist. If that were the case, then the Tao would be noticed. The Tao is most itself when it works through everything and no one even notices it’s there.

Practice…

Tonight, after it is dark, take a walk in a place that’s safe. Keeping yourself fully aware of your surroundings, allow your body and mind to begin to settle. Breathe in deeply, silently saying, “I dwell in peace.” Upon your exhale, say, “I walk without fear.” Repeat this to yourself every few steps, allowing the rhythm to embed this concept of fearless walking into your soul. Imagine yourself walking every day with this balance, each step held in harmony with the Tao, each breath resting under the wings of divine shelter.

Next, bring to mind the situations and people you met throughout your day. What caused you anxiety, but now in the stillness of this moment lacks the power to create a sense of fear? What people and situations will you encounter tomorrow? How can you choose to walk without fear into those moments? How can you allow your peace to extend to others, replacing their unrest with calm? Tomorrow, when fear rises, return to the breath-prayer: “I dwell in peace…I walk without fear.”

For related reading, check out my other articles:

If this reflection helped you imagine faith without fear, join me on Patreon for more writing about Jesus, Lao Tzu, progressive Christianity, and finding peace beyond rigid religion.

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About Gregory T. Smith

I live in the beautiful Fraser Valley of British Columbia and work in northern Washington State as a behavioral health specialist with people experiencing homelessness and those who are overly involved in the criminal justice system. Before that, I spent over a quarter-century as lead pastor of several Virginia churches. My newspaper column, “Spirit and Truth,” ran in Virginia newspapers for fifteen years. I am one of fourteen contributing authors of the Patheos/Quoir Publishing book “Sitting in the Shade of Another Tree: What We Learn by Listening to Other Faiths.” I hold a degree in Religious Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University and also studied at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. My wife Christina and I have seven children between us, and we are still collecting grandchildren. You can read more about the author here.

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