Proverb of the Week: Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and shun evil. Prov. 3:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10
The Meditation: Fear...or FEAR?
The English language is said to be one of the hardest languages to learn.
For starters, english has many meanings and uses of the same word. Cool, for instance, can mean good and it can mean something is cold to the touch. Aweful originally meant to be full of awe, but it now means something is terrible. The dictionary is full of these kind of words.
Love is another word like that. We can love our cars, our cats, our homes, our wives, our children, our parents, our siblings. And each different object invokes a different meaning to the word love. We don’t love our cars and cats like we love our spouses and children.(At least I hope not.). And even among people the meaning of love is different. My little girl means something different when she coos : “I love you daddy...” than my wife does when she says it. Same word. Different meanings.
Today we have such a word for you. That word is: Fear! Fear, on the day after Halloween, brings to mind ghosts and ghouls and other things that go bump in the night. It reminds us of being afraid, cowering and trembling in the corner. Hoping that the feared one doesn’t bite.
But there is another meaning to fear. One that is used frequently in the Bible. One that doesn’t make us tremble in fright but invites us to step forward, boldly and confidently. Fear as reverence and awe.
It’s hard to see this definition given our usual use of this word, but imagine for a moment if your favorite actor or actress was to walk through your front door. You wouldn’t cower away afraid and terrified, but you would treat him or her with fear. That is you would respect and honor them.
Fear is another word for respect. To fear is to respect. Our parents are feared and loved. They aren’t people we are afraid of(at least I hope they aren’t) but they are respected for who they are in our lives. No matter who you are, parents invoke a certain fear or respect that comes with their role in our lives.
We are called to have the same attitude toward God. The book of Proverbs calls us to fear God over and over again. To respect God, to honor God, and to hold Him in awe and reverence. To treat him like a celebrity and to give him the honor that we give our parents. That is the attitude we are called to take. That is the attitude a wise man takes. And the book of Proverbs is full of these references!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise wisdom and understanding. (Prov. 1:7)
The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. (Prov. 10:27)
Whoever fears the Lord walks uprightly, but those who despise him are devious in their ways. (Prov. 14:2)
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death. (Prov. 14:27)
Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord and humility comes before honor.(Prov. 15:33)
There are others! Many, many others! Over twenty to be exact. And Proverbs links this attitude toward God with wisdom saying, in effect, the wise are wise because they know their place before God. They are not wise in their own eyes. They trust God and shun evil. They walk uprightly and are not caught up in the snares of death. They are humble and do not grab honor falsely. And before all of these is the one command: To fear the Lord.
So how do we do this? What does this look like? Well, you can fear the Lord too. You can stand up with the wise. Respect of the Lord comes in the form of practice. How we live our lives. It shows itself in how we organize our time, how we parcel out our talents, and how we distribute our treasure. Its fingerprints are over each and every part of our lives. It's reflected in how we treat others at the grocery store, how we communicate with friends and relatives. It is more a public thing than a private one.
Fear of the Lord isn’t about what you do in the privacy of your own home as much as it is about what you do in community. The examples above show that a bit, but here are others, straight from Proverbs...
Fear the Lord and the king, my son, and do not join with rebellious officials. - Prov. 24:21
Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress and their children will be a refuge.-Prov 14:26
How you schedule your time is about your fear of the Lord. How you organize your resources is about your fear of the Lord. How you act in the grocery store, how you treat the neighbor that disagrees with you, and how you act toward your leaders and pastors is about your fear of the Lord. Your fear of the Lord is worn around your life like a tie, evident to all who look at you.
What will others see in you? Will they see Christ? Will they see your respect and love and honor of God in everything you do? Or will they see you worshiping yourself? Honoring yourself? Holding yourself above all others? Putting yourself above all others, even God? What will people see when they look at your life? Will they see a wise man who fears the Lord? Or a fool?
The choice is yours to make...according to Proverbs. And there's only two choices... Fear God...or be the fool. What will you decide? Amen.
Questions to Ponder
1) Examine your own relationship to God. How would you describe it? Would you use the word “fear” to describe that relationship? Has your relationship changed any?
2) Are you “afraid” of God? Or do you “Fear” Him? What is the difference? Read 1 John 4. What definition is John using in this chapter?
3) Where is respect for God lacking in your life? Where have you kept control and left God out of the picture?
A Prayer to Pray
Almighty God, we are called to serve, love, and fear you above all else. Dispel the shadows that crowd our time and thoughts and set us free to serve, love, and respect you as we follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment