There are numerous verses in the Bible that refer to the “fear of God.”

There are numerous verses in the Bible that refer to the “fear of God.”  When Abraham is preparing to sacrifice Isaac, for example, an angel calls out to him, “Do not lay your hand on the boy, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God.”  The opening chapter of Proverbs declares, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”; and a little later, “The fear of the Lord prolongs one’s life.”  Job is praised for being “blameless and upright, and one who fears God.”  Paul writes that we should “bring our holiness to completion in the fear of God,” while Peter encourages us to “honor everyone, love your brothers and sisters in Christ, and fear God!”

For a lot of folks, though, this phrase is problematic because it conjures up the image of an all-powerful, authoritarian God, who knows our every secret thought or hidden desire, and who is just itching to start hurling thunderbolts the moment we step out of line.  Indeed, we’ll sometimes speak of having a “come to Jesus” meeting with someone, in order to put “the fear of God” into him or her.

But in the Bible, “fear of God” does not mean being “afraid of God,” for the simple reason that fear is predominantly a negative emotion.  It is constricting and limiting.  It makes us either want to flee or fight.  A better translation for “fear of God” would be awe or reverence.  Granted, awe is similar to fear, in the sense that we feel overwhelmed by someone, or something, far greater and more powerful than ourselves.  But unlike fear, awe is a positive emotion, an expansive feeling.  Whereas fear makes us want to run in the opposite direction, awe makes us want to draw closer (although we still might be hesitant about getting too close).

Picture it this way: To stand at the edge of a steep cliff, looking straight down, is likely to generate fear for most of us—if not outright panic!  We would certainly try to get away from such a place as quickly as possible.  However, to stand on a mountaintop, surveying the majestic landscape, will likely generate a feeling of awe.  We would stay in a place like that for as long as we could.  Of the two, being in the presence of God more closely resembles the mountaintop experience!

The mistake we make in interpreting “fear of God” to mean “being frightened” is that we turn God into a nagging parent, or worse yet, a stern taskmaster, with report card in hand, who is just waiting to give us a failing grade.  But as the Apostle Paul reminds us, “God is on our side.  God is for us, not against us!”  Does God still seek our obedience?  Absolutely.  But not because we feel intimidated or afraid of what God will do to us if we don’t obey.  God takes no pleasure in mindless, groveling, scared-to-death servitude.  The reason we are instructed to obey God’s will is because, by so doing, we can reach our full potential as God’s children.  In other words, God wants the best for you and me—and knowing that ought to make us feel … well, awesome!