By Gina Caswell Kelly
The fear of God. We see and hear that often. But what does it really mean to “fear God” or “fear the Lord”? To fear someone doesn’t seem right in our terminology today. Are we really supposed to be scared of God? He is supposed to be loving and tender, gracious and merciful. So, where does the fear come in?
When the Bible speaks of the “fear of the Lord,” it is not necessarily talking about a God of whom we should be afraid. As the word fear is used in the Bible, when referring to God, means that He deserves honor and respect. We should stand in awe in His presence. We should understand that this great and powerful God, who created all things great and small, is certainly worthy of our respect and our honor in His presence.
In the Old Testament, even the word “name” begins with a capital letter when referring to God. In fact, the Israelite people would not even speak His name, they were so in awe of Him. They, for the most part, recognized that this God they served was very powerful. Well, here is a newsflash for you. We serve the very same God. The very same powerful God who parted the Red Sea. Who led them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night. The same God that gave them the Ten Commandments and was quite upset with them when they disobeyed Him.
So how do we show “fear of the Lord”? Well, in my mind, number one would be quit using His Name so carelessly! I absolutely cannot stand to hear anyone say “Oh my God!” I hate to even type that! I hear even young kids saying that. It just hurts my heart. That just shows no respect or honor for God or His Name.
I think also, when we see and share all these videos that humanize God for the humor aspect of it, shows a lack of the fear of God. Do you agree with me? I find them pretty funny at times, and I have even shared them. But it has been heavy on my heart that maybe I should not be doing that. We want to recognize that God is an approachable God, right? But I don’t feel as though we should approach Him as an uncle with a good sense of humor. We need to show Him much more respect than that.
And, lastly, we need to be very sure that we are showing our kiddos this great God that deserves our honor and respect. When I was a kid, my mom and dad taught us not to run in God’s house. They didn’t even like us to chew gum in church. I was definitely taught to respect God, I don’t think they would be very happy with some of the things we see and hear so often in our world today.
So, now I ask you, do you agree with me in this? Do you agree that we have somewhat lost our “fear of God” down through the generations? And if we are letting things slide, how much more will the next generation let it go?
Be about making a difference for God in this world, and start by showing Him the honor and respect that God so very much deserves!
