What is the fear of God?

                                            
                    "Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them
                        that hope in His mercy." Psalm 33:18

Today I’d like to look at and discuss a much-seen phrase from the Bible and give you my take on one of its meanings. That phrase is: the "fear of God." What brought this to my mind was a couple of terms I heard a lecturer mention the other day. Those terms were: "homophobia and Islamophobia." Perhaps you’ve also heard them spoken about lately.

It’s my prayer and aim here today to tie those terms into my thoughts on our topic and, hopefully, present a spiritual lesson for you to consider. Why I sometimes say that is because I know what I’m trying to say but, can I articulate my thoughts well enough that others can understand them? Again, hopefully I’ll be able to do that.

I’ve heard those two terms bandied about so much lately that I decided to do a little research on them and that research is what led me to this lesson. In this research, the first thing I thought necessary was to know and understand what a "phobia" actually is. It means: an "irrational fear" of something. That definition is a major factor in the underlying theme of today’s lesson. 

If you did a quick study on "phobias" you might be surprised at the number of them out there. As we mention a few, remember the definition - an "irrational fear." A good example is one that most of us experienced as young children - NYCTOPHOBIA which is a "fear of the dark/night." Aren’t little kids scared of the dark even though parents assure them that everything is OK. Thank goodness most of them grow out of it. They lose the "irrational" part of it, but still, we mostly prefer daylight over darkness, don’t we?

A few of the more common "phobias" are ACROPHOBIA (fear of heights), CLAUSTROPHOBIA (fear of confined spaces) and the opposing "phobia" of that is AGORAPHOBIA (fear of open spaces). It can cause those who have it to not want to leave their house and get out into the open. They don’t feel safe, as in not having a hiding place.
There’s even "phobias" that have to do with an "irrational fear" of modes of travel. One of them, very commonly seen, is AEROPHOBIA (aka: fear of flying). The other, not so common is AMAXOPHOBIA which is the "fear of riding in a car." At this point I’ll again remind you that a "phobia" is an "irrational fear." Let me also point out that "irrational" means "unreasonable or senseless." That fits with this lesson too.
In speaking about "phobias," I’ll just use myself as an example to get into the gist of my thoughts here. I don’t care very much for snakes, but I’m not an OPHIDIOPHOBIC. Plus, I do have a fear of falling, but neither am I a BASOPHOBIC. Why do I tell you that? It goes back to the definition "irrational fear." I have a "rational fear" of those things which allows me to use my reason and my sense to exercise caution in both situations.
I’ll even throw in another example - there are some people who are LILAPSOPHOBIC which means that they have a "phobia" about tornados or other violent storms. I don’t like them either and I and many others go into a storm shelter for safety from them. But, we have a "rational fear" of those things and we know that because we come out of the storm cellar, don’t we? We "rationally fear" tornados and hurricanes. I’ll stop with the examples before you develop PHOBOPHOBIA (fear of phobias - it’s real).

OK, let’s go back to my first two "phobias" for a moment. Anymore, if you are opposed to homosexuality you’re are branded as being HOMOPHOBIC. As I’ve been saying in my cited examples, I don’t have an "irrational fear" of homosexuals - I have a "rational fear" of them. I can "rationally" see that their lifestyle and behavior is very destructive to both themselves and society in general. Plus, it is, and has always been, an unrighteous behavior, an abomination, with God (Lev. 18:22, 1Cor. 6:9 & 1Tim. 1:10).

Let’s look at the second "phobia" that I mentioned - ISLAMOPHOBIA. It just seems that if you are opposed to or you speak against Muslims out comes the "phobia" branding iron. Immediately you are ISLAMOPHOBIC. You have an "irrational fear" of Muslims. No, I don’t. I have a "rational fear" of that religion.

I think that I can "rationally" apprise that false religion for several reasons. First off, God has told us throughout His Word that we are to have "no other gods before Him." The Muslims worship a man, Mohammed, in the place of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the very epitome of God (John 14:9) and the "Prince of Peace." (Isa. 9:6) The originator of the Muslim religion was a bloodthirsty bandit. I can "rationally" look at the history of Islam and see that it is an entity that began in violence, spread with the usage of violence and continues today being spread in that manner.

Let me say this also about Islam: it’s as much a political system as it is a religious system. The adherents of Islam can’t even agree amongst themselves as to how their laws are to be interpreted or how they are to behave both religiously and politically. Within that community, the ones who get to interpret what the civil law says is the faction that either has the most weapons or are the most ruthless in the use of them.

Here’s my point - I don’t have an "irrational fear" of homosexuals or of Muslims. I have a "rational fear." A reasonable and sensible fear of them. A "fear" that can "rationally" see, not only the temporal or worldly danger in being an adherent of either abomination, but the spiritual danger of following such a calling. And, it’s the "spiritual" that carries the most danger because it condemns it’s followers to an eternal damnation.

Now, here’s my connecting thought regarding "fear." There’s a myriad of scriptures that tell us, either directly or indirectly, that we are to "fear God." Probably as good a passage on this as we’ll find are the words of Solomon in Eccl. 12:13; "Let us hear the conclusion of the matter: fear God and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man."
Do you think Solomon is talking about a "rational" or an "irrational" fear there?

It is my humble opinion, derived from studying most of the passages that speak to our "fear of God" that it is NOT speaking of an "irrational fear" of God, but rather just the opposite - a "rational fear" of Him. Let me explain my position this way: man was given an intellect at the time of creation. Because of that intellect, we have the ability to reason things.
With the ability to reason comes the ability to gain knowledge, to study God’s Word and thereby know and understand what pleases Him. Note again something said by Solomon: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge..." (Prov. 1:7) Thus, our "fear of God" is one that is "rational" in that we know Who and What He is and that, speaking figuratively, He holds our souls in the "palm of His hand." (John 10:28)

That brings me to my concluding thought. In Matt. 10:28 we find the words so often used from the pulpit: "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." In other words: reverence and respect God, who created the world, mankind and everything on it, and has the power to bring eternal life or eternal death and suffering to your soul.

Yes, we can, and need to, have a "rational fear" about a lot of things that pertain to living on this earth because a "rational fear" allows us to be as safe as possible and avoid many problems while living our lives. But far more important than "fear" of earthly things, is a "rational fear" of God. He who issued us our soul and to Whom it will return. (Eccl. 12:7)

Ron Covey