The biblical idea of 'fear of the Lord,' is widely held to mean reverence or respect for God. Okay, we need to revere God, but maybe this interpretation is a bit watered down. Maybe we're 'afraid' that fear really means fear.
My ridiculously brilliant theology professor defines fear as "the response to a perceived inability to control an existentially relevant object"... Uff da. In real people terms, as far as I can tell, that means something like "we are afraid of what we cannot control." Today in class he gave us an example.
Suppose a man and his son are enjoying a nice day at the zoo. They are having a nice time looking at the lions. Suddenly, one of the lions breaks through the bars. The lions, which were not feared only a moment ago, are now completely feared. What made the difference? Of course the lions, which only moments ago were controlled, are now uncontrolled.
I think it follows that the fear of God is in this way connected to the love of God. It is God, who is absolutely uncontrollable, that fills us with both terror and joy. C.S. Lewis new this and weaved it into his character Aslan in "The Chronicles of Narnia." When Lucy first finds out about the great Aslan, she asks Mr. Beaver if he is safe. The beaver’s response sums up how I think we should also view God. “Safe?...Of course he’s not safe. But he’s good.”
5 comments:
I believe that the terms "awe" and "fear" are very much alike. I am in awe of an electrical storm, but also fear it-- I have no control over such a powerful event. Thanks, Darrin, for sharing this thought and that of your prof.
I am going to say that I don't think that fear is good. I think fear makes something unapproachable, and therefore, unknowable. Those dumb people chasing down lions in the wild or on the loose don't necessarily fear the lion, I think they understand what the lion can do and hence...respect it.
I am not quite sure God would want us to live in fear of God because that makes God unapproachable to me, and I think that God has revealed that God is extremely approachable. However, just respecting God sounds ridiculously lame to me and does not quite "do it" for me, and I would hope for anyone.
So, I am not quite sure, I think fear...AWE...is good and right, but actual fear is debilitating to one's ambition. If I fear (am scared of) God that makes my hope of drawing closer to God impossible becuase no one draws close to the thing they fear. OK, I am done now.
Mike
Yes but isn't it God that draws us near?
Also, I'm not convinced that fearing God makes him unapproachable. I don't think its a fear like 'I fear the boogy man.' It's maybe more like this:
A father is playing hide and seek with his little son. The little boy is hiding and knows that without a doubt his father will find him. As he hears his daddy's footsteps draw closer, he is filled with a kind of delightful fear...the kind that exhilerates you and makes your heart beat real fast.
I would agree with that fear...but that does not go with what you originally said in your posting:
"The biblical idea of 'fear of the Lord,' is widely held to mean reverence or respect for God. Okay, we need to revere God, but maybe this interpretation is a bit watered down. Maybe we're 'afraid' that fear really means fear."
I don't think THAT fear in this sense is positive. I like the other kinds that you have talked about, but this real fear is different than an awe or respect or exhilaration. The latter three are positive, but I think the former is not. I think it is weird that in talking about fearing God, we always change the words we are using, we don't usually stick with fear. So, maybe the language has changed since...600 B.C. and it is time to drop the fear thing and use words that actually make sense to us.
Like I said, I love the other isslustrations you have been using, but actual fear is something that debilitates and I do not think God would want that, but would rather bring us...life...and maybe even to the fullest.
I agree with Mike, in that to fear God in the sense of "being afraid" of Him, would put us in an extreme conundrum. Several times throughout scripture, God says, "Do not be afraid, for I am with you," or something very similar (i.e. Isaiah 41:10, Joshua 1:9, etc.) If God's presence is promised to us, and yet we are afraid of Him, I think our daily walk with God would be similar to the journey of Frodo and Sam in the "Lord of the Rings". They recognized their need for Golem, his guidance and knowledge, and yet they feared every moment that he might turn on them and kill them. I don't see this as the picture of our relationship that is painted for us in the Bible.
I also agree with Mike that many times, these discussions are confusing because of semantics. Word choice is important, especially with so many definitions to the word "fear". I think if Shawn MacDonald was afraid of God, he wouldn't have written, "I fall down in reverence. I fall down in fear. I'm asking you Lord, won't you please draw near."
We cannot lose the awe, respect, reverence, honor, and glory that God deserves, and demands for Himself, or we make him out to be something less that who He is. At the same time, we cannot dismiss His forgiving, compassionate, gracious nature which is slow to anger and abounding in love. Otherwise we also make Him out to be less than who he is.
Good thoughts.
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