Psalm 111:10 says, ‘The fear of the Lord in the beginning of wisdom.’ Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10 say the identical thing. Three times God tells us that we begin to get wise when we begin to fear Him. If the first of the 10 Commandments is to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength how can we love Him and fear Him at the same time?
I remember growing up that I loved my Dad. I knew that he loved me and wanted the best for me. But I was also afraid of him. I was self-willed and rebelled against authority if it prevented me from getting my own way. My Dad had little patience with my foolishness and brought me into line fast with a spanking. I learned to fear him if I was doing wrong. But I still loved him because I knew it was for my good. I transferred that fear to God.
Accountability for our sins should cause us all to fear His discipline in this life or His judgment hereafter. God says in Proverbs 8:13: ‘The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil: Pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth I hate.’ If those behaviors describe us we don’t hate them and we don’t fear the Lord. We are foolish and become known for it. Wise men remind us that fools have nothing going for them:
Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something. — Plato
The best way to convince a fool that he is wrong is to let him have his own way. –Josh Billings
When a fool lies to himself, he is not only dishonest, he is also gullible. –Joseph D. Cox
Think about how stupid the average person is, then realize half of them are stupider than that. –George Carlin
When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber. –Sir Winston Churchill
Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don’t have brains enough to be honest. –Benjamin Franklin
Do you hate evil? Want to walk with wise men and bless others with your wisdom?
Join the Knights of Columbus!
For information on joining the Knights of Columbus / St. Bonaventure Council No. 12240, contact
Grand Knight Jude Hodges (954) 235-4524 [email protected].
or
Membership Director Joe Cox (954) 614-3209 [email protected]
When we fear our dad, is it really the spanking or do we fear he will be disappointed in us?
Likewise, is Fear of the Lord, a fear of some kind of punishment?
God is our loving Father who only asks that we willfully love Him in return for His ever present, unconditional love for us.
“Act of Contrition. Oh my God I am heartly sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because of your just punishment, BUT MOST OF ALL BECAUSE THEY OFFEND THEE MY GOD, WHO ART GOOD AND DESERVING OF ALL MY LOVE . . .”
Fearing punishment is only part of the Christian life, it is minimal. In sports we hear that “you have to give 110%,” why should we think less is enough for having a relationship with God.
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Peter,
You are right. True Christians have nothing to fear. That isn’t so for unbelievers. God does gets angry and judges those who rebel against Him. He destroyed the entire world in the time of Noah. He also commanded King Saul (through the prophet Samuel) to exterminate the Amalekites (1Samuel 15:7) who treated Israel inhospitably three centuries before. He has prepared a lake of fire for the Devil and his angels and said that “All liars have their part in the lake of fire. (Revelation 21:8). He destroyed Jerusalem (by the Babylonians) as prophesied by Jeremiah.
Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “Be not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” Jesus spoke more of hell than heaven. More people are going there.
There is nothing to fear for true believers. To them He always says “Be not afraid.” For unbelievers, fearing Him is the beginning of wisdom. In John 3:18 Jesus said: “No one who believes in him will be judged; but whoever does not believe is judged already, because that person does not believe in the Name of God’s only Son.”
The Greek word ‘believe’ is “pistuo” and it means I trust in, I rely on and I cling to. When we do that we will only know the love of God, even though He will still try our faith to grow us. Sometimes it won’t feel like love, but trials are a sign of son-ship and love. When we slip up, the prayer of contrition restores fellowship with our Father.
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