Plan Three: Nurturing a Fear of GodSample

THE FEAR OF MAN VERSUS THE FEAR OF GOD

Oswald Chambers wrote, “the remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else.”

A quick search of the Internet uncovers hundreds of unusual fears, such as epistaxiophobia (the fear of nosebleeds), alliumphobia (the fear of garlic), chrometophobia (the fear of money), and scriptophobia (the fear of writing in public). However, the most dangerous fear, the one fear that the Bible is most concerned about, is missing from every list—the biblical fear of man.

The fear of man drives you away from God; it prevents you from obeying God because the approval of man (mankind) is more important than the favor of God. The fear of man is a trap and a snare. Someone who fears man easily succumbs to peer pressure and is unwilling to take a stand for what is right. Minister and writer John Bunyan wrote that the fear of man is “the fear of losing man’s favor, love, goodwill, help, and friendship.”

The fear of man is at the root of personal insecurity because we crave other people’s approval. We are unwilling to speak the truth, for we seek the applause of man rather than God’s approval.

The fear of man keeps us from obeying God. The Bible instructs us to admit our faults, confess our sins, and pray for each other, but the fear of man stops us from obeying God’s Word. The fear of man prevents us from entering into meaningful relationships with other believers where it is safe to reveal our personal struggles, ask for prayer, and receive healing.

The antidote to the fear of man is the fear of God, for the two cannot co-exist. They are like oil and water; one displaces the other. The fear of man is so intense, dangerous, and spiritually debilitating that only the fear of God can displace it.

When we fear God, we have an unshakable and steadfast conviction that God is great, and God is good. Because of our firm conviction, we will boldly and faithfully obey His commands. The world may view our actions as courageous, and indeed they are, but we also know that the safest place one can be is in the center of God’s will, and in that, we find comfort.