Fear

By todays standards the tiny church my family attended would be considered very fundamentalist. As a small boy I was brought there frequently and endured it with little complaint. It was just part of life. I had no control over it. So, I just sat and waited. Without even realizing it I learned quite a lot. I liken it to the way a child learns it’s first language. He is surrounded with it. He hears it spoken almost constantly. Eventually he starts to understand and before long he is fluent. Before we ate our meals a prayer of thanks was spoken over the food and at bedtime I was lead in a simple prayer of thanks for my life and an acknowledgement of God as my creator and sustainer. Slowly I became fluent in the faith of my parents.

I listened to quite a few fiery preachers as I grew into a young man. About the age of thirteen I went to the front of the church at an altar call and was lead in the sinners prayer. Looking back on that night of more than fifty years ago, I think I might have heeded that call more out of fear of the judgement than anything else. The fear wasn’t just a fear of hell but also a fear of the consequences of living a life without God as my anchor. Throughout my childhood I had the guardrails of my parents faith. My parents believed in rules and in correcting bad behavior. I had been taught that being a good person meant being honest and that I should treat everyone as I wanted to be treated. Also, that living my life selfishly would, in the end result in unhappiness and dissatisfaction. I was beginning to grow up and I had started to see people that had lived carelessly and the outcomes of their life without rules and I was afraid.

Many people hate the idea of giving their children rules and bad behavior goes uncorrected and unpunished. If you watch the news you can see the results of that philosophy of parenting. I believe one should have some fear of the consequences of selfish or hateful acts. Nature uses the principle of punishment to keep us safe and to teach us that we shouldn’t do certain things. For example touching something hot or bothering wasps or bees. We learn important lessons from nature because it punishes us for acts that aren’t in our best interest. We should take that lesson and apply it to other areas of life.

So, I contend that it is right that we impose rules upon our children and that we enforce them with a bit of fear of the consequences. By so doing we are starting them out with guardrails that will help them throughout their lives. I believe YHVH gave us His commandments out of His love of us, to keep us from harming ourselves or others. Men make laws like speed limits to keep people from harming themselves or others. Fear of arrest or fines enforce that law.

Psalm 111:10 says, “The fear of YHVH is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments”.

My relationship with God may have started out as one of fear. But, as I have grown older it has become one of love. I Know YHVH loves me now as a parent loves their child because He corrects me when I am in error. He provides me with guardrails to keep me safe in the form of His commandments. Listen to the words of another author that came to the same conclusion long ago.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

I don’t know at what point my fear of YHVH became love for Him. I think it gradually came about. When I have sinned, I brought undesired outcomes onto myself and I realized that if I had obeyed YHVH’s instructions and commandments I would have avoided much suffering. I learned that His rules were not arbitrary. But, were for my good. I started to appreciate them and Him. I began to trust Him. My understanding of our relationship became one of a loving parent and a loving child. Hear what the Apostle John had to say.

1 John 4:18

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love.

I endured many hours in the tiny church and I was given a lot of rules along the way. But, it has brought me to a very different place. A place of confidence and comfort. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. But, love and trust is its end.