The Fear of the Lord
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Proverbs 9:10
This has been a difficult verse for me to understand at times. “Why does God want me to fear Him?” “I thought God wanted me to love Him?” “What kind of God is this that wants me to be afraid of Him?” Is He some kind of Michael Scott who thinks “I want people to be afraid of how much they love me?”
Two things we need to know that are true about God.
1. He loves us.
2. He wants what is best for us.
Since these two things are true this is why God calls us to fear Him. Why? Because, the things we fear the most generally control our behavior. For example, we fear our homes being invaded (or at least your wives do) therefore we lock the doors at night. We fear unknown disasters therefore we buy life, home, and auto insurance. We fear the reality that “when momma ain’t happy nobody is happy” therefore we try to keep momma happy in our homes!
So, when we fear God we obey his commands, and since God is our creator and He knows what is best for His creation, our lives are better because we fear Him and obey his commands. When we live the way God commands us to live there is more peace in our lives, there is more hope in our lives, and we see more of God’s promises fulfilled in our lives.
Brothers, when we fear the Lord, we obey Him! When we obey the Lord our lives and our families reap the rewards!
Stay faithful men!