Fear or Respect?
May 17, 2022
I have long wondered about this concept of fear. I cannot seem to escape the contemplation of “fearing God.” How is it possible to fear one whom you love? We learn rom 1 John that perfect love casts out fear. Does this mean that the way that God was to be approached was different in the Old Testament than in the New? When Christ conquered sin and death did that mean we no longer are required to follow the law? Was fear of God even a commandment?
I must wonder if our approach is not completely off. We often look for what is expected of us. Sadly, I might offer that for most people, subconsciously, the purpose of knowing what is expected is not to do our best, but to find the bare minimum requirement for us to have completed a job/task. I find it interesting that Jesus used much slave/servant language in His teaching, Slavery during His time was an institution that reflected upon the master. The slave was considered property of his/her owner. The slave’s work, appearance or conduct could either reflect poorly or well upon the master. Slaves who respected their master sought to bring the master honor. Slaves who feared the master may simply have done the bare minimum expected by the master. (Consider the parables of the talents/minas and the 3 slave’s responses.)
With that said, for a quick Hebrew/Greek lesson: the words used in Hebrew and Greek are synonymous (they are similar in meaning). The Greek word for “fear” is the root word from which we derive the word “phobia.” If you recognize the word “phobia,” you probably know that it indicates both fear and respect. Therefore, the same root word in the Greek may be used in the parable that Jesus offered all three servants, but it is only spoken by the third servant. The first two contextually would have respected the master, but the last only feared.
Truly though, there can be an element of fear in respect . . . fear of disappointing and fear of dishonoring are two. These types of fear change our actions, which is how this all ties into our verse of the day. Our actions will be most greatly impacted when we hold a respect for God that fears our actions dishonoring/disrespecting/disappointing our Heavenly Father. When you think of your life, do you respect God so much that you want to work for His glory, or do you simply want to know how far is too far so that you can do the minimum required?
