the fear of God
i haven’t written something here in my own words in quite some time.
i’ve been thinking about the phrase “fear of God” for a little while now, not really understanding what the phrase meant. but if you take it contra to a phrase such as “fear of man”, it starts to make some sense.
as we live in this world, we cannot help but live according to many of its norms, standards, and values. we live according to what the world says we ought to value in career, relationships, etc. the world defines these things we ought to be striving for, and so we oblige ourselves to become the paragon of such things.
these standards are out there, they are the yardstick we unknowingly refer to in all of our conversations. there is no official bible so to speak regarding them, it’s simply knowledge we’ve all accumulated through life. it’s what drives us in every aspect of life, to seek these things.
our hearts are never neutral. nor are our minds. the two are interlinked, and they show allegiance to some thing, never nothing. there is no practical atheist or agnostic. we all ultimately believe in something.
by juxtaposing the “fear of man” against the “fear of God”, we can now ask whether we are more prone to walk according to the ways of this world and man, or of God. does the world define our sense of whatever norm or value, or does God? do we live according to the fear of man or God?
as Christians, we have the Bible to tell us what are God’s definitions of norms and values. it tells us what we are to do and strive for, and it’s actually far simpler than the world’s definition. the world says to strive for success, to seek your own happiness, that you have the right to pursue whatever your heart desires (though such desires frequently spawn sin). meanwhile, the Bible simply says to be like Christ, live your life in humble response to what He has already done for you.
the fear of God essentially means that your desire to live according to God’s ways and will is greater than your desire to seek the things of this world. furthermore, to challenge the preconceived notions we have become accustomed to through living in this world. the “fear” in “fear of God” goes beyond the understanding of anxiety or impending possible danger. here, it refers more to reverence, respect, allegiance, commitment, loyalty, subordination.
i think the last word introduces the idea well. we subordinate ourselves everyday to preconceived notions of worldly wisdom, and then live according to it! however, as Christians, we are to subordinate ourselves to God’s words first, and only that.
here is where i begin to feel kind of guilty. i know many of my aspirations are selfish and not righteous in God’s eyes. i know i live to meet many expectations that are more of this world than those in the Bible. i know the ways of this society, but i barely know God’s ways because i don’t read it enough. and if i don’t read it enough, how can i know His ways? at best, i’m taking wild guesses and living based on what i hope to think is in line with God. however, this is a very dangerous ground to tread and not a habit i ought to become accustomed to. i’m pretty sure every sober Christian knows they don’t read the Bible enough, and that their need for it never wanes, however our flesh is weak and our staggering ability to believe we are always right and self-sufficient takes us away from this reminder of humility and dependence. i mean, who wants to be reminded in this age of independence and ambition that we are sinners saved by grace, undeserving recipients of unmerited mercy, dependent on the sacrifice of Christ’s atoning work? no one likes to be reminded they are weak. yet the Bible speaks clearly in the beattitudes, blessed are those who are poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. through humility and brokenness, we then seek God’s kingdom, His will, His ways, He is the one whom we subordinate ourselves under.
the life of a Christian ought to look dramatically different from those who do not believe. we do not live according to the ways of this world. we do not seek the things of this world. we do not hold such things as dear, we hold God as dear and near to our hearts. for whatever is near becomes dear. this is how our heart works and the allegiance it holds manifests in what we pursue after. and so the question becomes, where does our heart lie? what do we hold dear? what do we pursue after? what precepts do our lives live by? i believe this is why the apostle Paul warns in 1 Thess. 5:21 to “test everything; hold fast what is good”. yet, testing requires an answer key of sorts, so that we maybe able to know what is truly good and right. in this age of relativism, if we do not know the Bible, we are pretty much going to go with whatever sounds best according to ourselves, and we’re always going to pick whatever we like. however, many times our own desires lead to sin and death (James 1:14-15). game over, good game, the world wins.
it is vital for all Christians to know God’s word, to live and be transformed by it. otherwise, “Christian” becomes a meaningless descriptor, a null label at best; and at its worst, the subject of hypocrisy, ridicule, and worst of all, a poor, incorrect representation of Christ.
i write this, primarily to challenge myself, to remind myself when i think i’m going after other things, when i begin to fear man, rather than God. however, i think many of us can relate since being a genuine Christian today is difficult to say the least. our theology needs to be refreshed, reworked, recompiled, from the bottom-up, inside-out, founded, shaped, and strengthened by the Bible. otherwise, we will continue living a life of compromise.
ultimately, i think our reverence towards God is based on our understanding of our own depravity, our own sin. if you don’t think you’re all that bad, then you won’t think you really need a Savior all that much. and if you think you’re kind of self-sufficient like that, then your desire to read the Bible isn’t going to be all that great. however, for those of us who continually come to understand just how necessary Christ’s ministry was for us, we simply can’t gloss over the fact that we really fight to live righteously in this twisted world.
it’s weird…having been at seminary nearly two years now…i don’t feel holier or anything like that. it’s actually quite the opposite. the more i learn about God, the more pronounced sin becomes to me, and i think less highly of myself with each passing day. this doesn’t lead to depression or low self-esteem though. instead, it enriches, deepens, and magnifies the beauty of God’s grace. strange how that works, but i think that has been good for me.
i guess in closing, i know i’m not Paul, but i reaffirm his charge- test everything. is the “good” in your life relative (imbued with sin) or absolute? practically speaking, in addition to reading the word, seek good accountability (Hebrew 3:13).
