"The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom."- Psalm 111:10
I have never been taught to fear God.
I have been taught to fear heights, snakes, and dangerous people. I've been taught to fear change, different ideas, and strangers. I've been taught to fear the future, bad eating habits, going into debt, and a multitude of other things.
But I've never been taught to fear God.
I remember when I was a kid, hearing the words, "Fear God." Almost without pause, the person who said that hastily explained, "Now, what that means is RESPECT. We need to have a healthy respect for God. God really doesn't want us to FEAR Him," and on and on the explanation went.
It's almost as if the Church was trying to apologize for something the Bible said. It was as if the Church was embarrassed about those words in the Bible- as if somehow the Biblical writers (who got it all RIGHT when it comes to love and forgiveness and grace and all that) got it wrong when they wrote about fearing God.
So I never learned to fear God.
And that was awful, because like the Bible says, "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom."
I think the Church should unapologetically rediscover and preach the fear of God. Not only is it completely and totally true- a mere mortal made of recyclable elements whose days are numbered SHOULD fear an eternal, uncreated, all-powerful, all-loving God- but fearing God brings us to where we become the best sort of human being around. I will explain:
Every month, people in my church give me sponsorship money for their orphans in the Catalyst orphanage in India. Some give me cash, some give me checks. I take the money they give me to the bank, cash the checks, get the largest bills possible, then drive over to Western Union and send it. This is a very efficient system, but it also leaves the door wide open for temptation. What if I were to pocket a hundred or two hundred bucks each month? I send anywhere from $1300 to $1500 a month. Who would notice?
I'll tell you Who would notice- GOD. I fear God. I believe that one day I will stand before Him, and all the people in my church that trusted me and listened to me teach and looked up to me as their pastor will be there. They will be thinking to themselves, "There is my pastor. That's the one who baptized me, who sat with me when I had surgery, who prayed with me when I lost my parents, whose messages uplifted me and encouraged me, etc."
Then all of a sudden God will start listing the times I embezzled. He won't have to make anything up- they will be true. Not only will He state that I stole money from children who needed it; He will say something even worse- "David, you stole money from ME." Then Matthew 25 will come back to mind, "For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink,"- I was an orphan child and you stole money from ME. You used money that was to feed ME and you used it to make yourself more comfortable, buying things you didn't need. You did this all without shame, without guilt, flaunting yourself as a Christian leader and deceiving the people who trusted you."
I will glance over at the people that trusted me, looked up to me, thought I was a great moral man; and I will see the look of disgust and betrayal on their faces. Do you think I want to see that? Do you think I want to stand before God and be judged on that?
ABSOLUTELY NOT.
Therefore, I don't steal. I don't embezzle. I don't do anything dishonest because I fear God.
We all hear stories of ministers especially who have fallen- those who have taken money from people, committed adultery, etc. Why did this happen? One, they were human. Obviously we are all tempted. But the second reason is one thing that people never mention- they lost their fear of God. Somewhere along the line, they stopped thinking that they would be held accountable by God. So they became terrible versions of themselves. The fear of God definitely makes you behave differently.
Now, my question is- does the fear of God make me a better or worse person?
Better.
People who know they will be held accountable for actions act much differently than people who believe there is no accountability at all.
How do people who think they are above the law act? Are they wonderful citizens, caring, giving, respectful? Nope. They are self-centered, manipulative, look-out-for-number-one, egotistical, dishonest brats. They act as if the rules don't apply to them, and they become the very worst versions of themselves.
How do people in charge of budgets, expense accounts, and other financial assets act when they believe they can get away with everything? We all know the answer to that. We see it every day. When there is no fear of God, you become a very terrible person.
And that's where we are as a society. Why do husbands and wives spend time looking at porn instead of engaging with their spouse? They don't have any fear of God. Why do people use the name of the Lord in vain, sleep in Sunday mornings instead of worshiping, disobey the commands to tithe, commit fraud, lie, steal, and do other dishonest things that they know are wrong?
They have no fear of God.
Maybe, like me, they were taught that you really shouldn't FEAR God. Just respect Him. But don't really FEAR Him. Don't spend time thinking about judgment and hell and the justice of God. Just respect Him.
What has that gotten us as a church and as a society?
How different would you be if you knew that every act and every word out of your mouth was going to be called to account? Probably a lot different. Bad news (or Good news) is- they will. Jesus said it Himself, "But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken." Matthew 12:36
Would knowing that every careless word you speak- every promise, every insult, every complaint, every curse- would the fact that those words would be brought into judgment change the way you speak? Most likely. Now, the question is- would this make your speech better or worse? Better.
This is why the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. By knowing you will be held accountable, it forces you to choose your words and actions wisely. Knowing that you will be held accountable for all your words and actions turns you into a very decent sort of human being.
Knowing that you will be held accountable for your words makes you use words to build up instead of tear down. Knowing that your dishonest actions will have eternal consequences makes you into a person who doesn't do dishonest things. Knowing that everything you do in secret really isn't secret makes you into a very wise person- choosing wise paths and carefully selecting words.
Fearing God turns you into the best version of yourself.
The Church needs to start preaching the fear of God. We need to understand ourselves as people under accountability. We need to know that every word, every act, every thought, every failure to act will be brought to light and judged by a holy, awesome God. When we begin to once again see ourselves in this way, we will be very, very different people.
Very, very, different BETTER people.
I have never been taught to fear God.
I have been taught to fear heights, snakes, and dangerous people. I've been taught to fear change, different ideas, and strangers. I've been taught to fear the future, bad eating habits, going into debt, and a multitude of other things.
But I've never been taught to fear God.
I remember when I was a kid, hearing the words, "Fear God." Almost without pause, the person who said that hastily explained, "Now, what that means is RESPECT. We need to have a healthy respect for God. God really doesn't want us to FEAR Him," and on and on the explanation went.
It's almost as if the Church was trying to apologize for something the Bible said. It was as if the Church was embarrassed about those words in the Bible- as if somehow the Biblical writers (who got it all RIGHT when it comes to love and forgiveness and grace and all that) got it wrong when they wrote about fearing God.
So I never learned to fear God.
And that was awful, because like the Bible says, "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom."
I think the Church should unapologetically rediscover and preach the fear of God. Not only is it completely and totally true- a mere mortal made of recyclable elements whose days are numbered SHOULD fear an eternal, uncreated, all-powerful, all-loving God- but fearing God brings us to where we become the best sort of human being around. I will explain:
Every month, people in my church give me sponsorship money for their orphans in the Catalyst orphanage in India. Some give me cash, some give me checks. I take the money they give me to the bank, cash the checks, get the largest bills possible, then drive over to Western Union and send it. This is a very efficient system, but it also leaves the door wide open for temptation. What if I were to pocket a hundred or two hundred bucks each month? I send anywhere from $1300 to $1500 a month. Who would notice?
I'll tell you Who would notice- GOD. I fear God. I believe that one day I will stand before Him, and all the people in my church that trusted me and listened to me teach and looked up to me as their pastor will be there. They will be thinking to themselves, "There is my pastor. That's the one who baptized me, who sat with me when I had surgery, who prayed with me when I lost my parents, whose messages uplifted me and encouraged me, etc."
Then all of a sudden God will start listing the times I embezzled. He won't have to make anything up- they will be true. Not only will He state that I stole money from children who needed it; He will say something even worse- "David, you stole money from ME." Then Matthew 25 will come back to mind, "For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink,"- I was an orphan child and you stole money from ME. You used money that was to feed ME and you used it to make yourself more comfortable, buying things you didn't need. You did this all without shame, without guilt, flaunting yourself as a Christian leader and deceiving the people who trusted you."
I will glance over at the people that trusted me, looked up to me, thought I was a great moral man; and I will see the look of disgust and betrayal on their faces. Do you think I want to see that? Do you think I want to stand before God and be judged on that?
ABSOLUTELY NOT.
Therefore, I don't steal. I don't embezzle. I don't do anything dishonest because I fear God.
We all hear stories of ministers especially who have fallen- those who have taken money from people, committed adultery, etc. Why did this happen? One, they were human. Obviously we are all tempted. But the second reason is one thing that people never mention- they lost their fear of God. Somewhere along the line, they stopped thinking that they would be held accountable by God. So they became terrible versions of themselves. The fear of God definitely makes you behave differently.
Now, my question is- does the fear of God make me a better or worse person?
Better.
People who know they will be held accountable for actions act much differently than people who believe there is no accountability at all.
How do people who think they are above the law act? Are they wonderful citizens, caring, giving, respectful? Nope. They are self-centered, manipulative, look-out-for-number-one, egotistical, dishonest brats. They act as if the rules don't apply to them, and they become the very worst versions of themselves.
How do people in charge of budgets, expense accounts, and other financial assets act when they believe they can get away with everything? We all know the answer to that. We see it every day. When there is no fear of God, you become a very terrible person.
And that's where we are as a society. Why do husbands and wives spend time looking at porn instead of engaging with their spouse? They don't have any fear of God. Why do people use the name of the Lord in vain, sleep in Sunday mornings instead of worshiping, disobey the commands to tithe, commit fraud, lie, steal, and do other dishonest things that they know are wrong?
They have no fear of God.
Maybe, like me, they were taught that you really shouldn't FEAR God. Just respect Him. But don't really FEAR Him. Don't spend time thinking about judgment and hell and the justice of God. Just respect Him.
What has that gotten us as a church and as a society?
How different would you be if you knew that every act and every word out of your mouth was going to be called to account? Probably a lot different. Bad news (or Good news) is- they will. Jesus said it Himself, "But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken." Matthew 12:36
Would knowing that every careless word you speak- every promise, every insult, every complaint, every curse- would the fact that those words would be brought into judgment change the way you speak? Most likely. Now, the question is- would this make your speech better or worse? Better.
This is why the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. By knowing you will be held accountable, it forces you to choose your words and actions wisely. Knowing that you will be held accountable for all your words and actions turns you into a very decent sort of human being.
Knowing that you will be held accountable for your words makes you use words to build up instead of tear down. Knowing that your dishonest actions will have eternal consequences makes you into a person who doesn't do dishonest things. Knowing that everything you do in secret really isn't secret makes you into a very wise person- choosing wise paths and carefully selecting words.
Fearing God turns you into the best version of yourself.
The Church needs to start preaching the fear of God. We need to understand ourselves as people under accountability. We need to know that every word, every act, every thought, every failure to act will be brought to light and judged by a holy, awesome God. When we begin to once again see ourselves in this way, we will be very, very different people.
Very, very, different BETTER people.
It was the very first thing I learned about God, what reverent fear was. I was just talking about that with a friend, I even remember where I was, who taught me, and the date, July 16, 1989. It was eye opening for sure, and it was the weekend I had gotten saved.
ReplyDeleteOh, and of course, I took the fear to a whole new level. It took me 24 years to learn to love him, mixed in with that reverent fear.
ReplyDelete