Fear of the Lord vs Fear of Man

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One of the concepts that is important for walking out our purpose or charge in life is the fear of the Lord vs the fear of man. The fear of the Lord is reverence, honor, respect, and awe for him. When we choose to honor God he honors us but sometimes we can get snared or entangled in life because pleasing people becomes a higher priority than pleasing God. 

Communion Meditation

The spring season is a reminder of a fresh start. Speaking of a fresh start, taking communion is an opportunity to turn the tables and have a fresh start. Take a moment to evaluate all of the areas of your life...Spiritually, mentally, emotionally, purpose, health, family(think through each of your relationships), finances, order, time, and community. Are there any areas that are going in the wrong direction?

The big question is which direction are you heading? If you are going the right direction it is only a matter of time before your results begin to compound and accelerate. Any areas that are off track or going the wrong direction are areas to give to God and cast the care onto him. Something I have found is that the areas where things are going the wrong direction are usually areas where I have the most worry and care over.

When you take communion have it be symbolic of a turning point for all of those areas. Communion is the table turner. When we take communion we are proclaiming the death of Jesus which was the turning point for all of human history. The tables were turned and the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant happened. Let this time of communion be the point in time that marks the turning of anything that was going in the wrong direction. A turning doesn't mean it is all fixed today, but it means it starts moving in the right direction, then it is only a matter of time before the results start to compound. 

The Fear of the Lord

The fear of the Lord is honor, reverence, awe, and respect for God. We are supposed to be finding our purpose or charge in life and walking it out in the fear of the Lord with reverence and honor for God. The opposite of this is the fear of man, where we are trying to please people. For example, King Saul in the Bible had the kingdom stripped from him because he was more worried about what the people thought of him than what God said. 

Just the other day I felt God spoke to me saying " Why are you twisting my word?" My immediate response was to ask him how I was twisting his word so that I could repent and get it right. After some seeking he began to show me that where I was twisting his word had to do with the fear of man. He showed me that the twisting wasn't happening in the teachings but in specific conversations with people where I was relaxing God's standard in order not to offend people. He instructed me that I was to confront these situations in love and grace with what he had taught me rather than bending it to the situation. In Proverbs 29:25 it says the fear of man is a snare. The root of the Hebrew word for snare has to do with bending or twisting. 

For me personally the fear of man was an issue. I used to always fear confrontation and wanted to please people, but God has taught me to be more bold and courageous and speak the truth in love. 

Proverbs 14:27 says the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life keeping us from the snares of death and Proverbs 29:25 says the fear of man is a snare but those who trust in God are set on high. These are opposites. What is a snare? It is a trap, lure, bait, or something used to deceive someone and capture them to take away their freedom. Our purpose is supposed to set us free, but the fear of man can keep us bound where we are not willing to step out to pursue what God has for us. 

Proverbs 16:27 says that when a man's ways please the Lord he makes even his enemies be at peace with him. Many people teach that if we are following God we will just get attacked all the time, but this is not what the Bible says. Yes, there may be times when we do the right things and get attacked because of it, but ultimately if we walk in the fear of the Lord it should lead to a place of peace and rest. 

When we are in the fear of the Lord it brings us to a place of peace but the fear of man causes anxiety and insecurity. Valuing and honoring God more than everything else is the key to all of this. 

In 2 Chronicles 17 is the story of King Jehoshaphat. It tells us he followed God's ways rather than the practices of Israel. So, he did not conform to what the people around him were doing, instead he made it a goal to please God. One of the ways he did this was by sending the priests and Levites into all the towns of Judah in order to teach the people God's word. After doing this it says that the fear of the Lord fell on all the nations surrounding them and Judah had peace and rest on every side, and Jehoshaphat grew in power, wealth, and honor. 

But then Jehoshaphat made a mistake and allied himself with King Ahab of Israel who was a wicked king. They ended up going to battle together and during the battle Ahab was killed and Jehoshaphat narrowly escaped because he asked God for help as he was getting overtaken. After this Judah is attacked and Jehoshaphat and his people have no chance against the vast army that comes against them. Jehoshaphat gathers all of the people of Judah and humbles himself before God proclaiming a fast. Then he prays to God and says " We don't know what to do but our eyes are on you." God then tells them they will not have to fight because the battle is God's. God tells them to take up their battle positions and stand firm and watch his deliverance. After God destroys their enemy they gather all the plunder and again the fear of the Lord fell on all of the nations surrounding them and God gave them peace and rest on every side. 

In Psalm 91 it says that if we will make God our refuge, if we will abide in him, he will keep us from the snare of the fowler and satisfy us with long life. 

The key to all of this is abiding in Christ and staying focused on God no matter what is going on around us. This is the key to both growth and the fear of the Lord. To walk in the fear of the Lord is to live a life that is pleasing to God and there are two main ways we can please him. The first way is obedience and willingly following what he asks us to do. Jesus said that if we love him we will obey his commandments. The second way is by loving people and giving them the same grace and love that God has given us. It pleases God for us to get to the point in our lives where nobody can push our buttons causing us to step out of love and giving others the same grace God has given us. To love God by listening to him and doing what he shows us to do with a good attitude and giving other people the same love and grace God has given us is how we fear him.