With All Due Respect
Proverbs 14:2, 26-27 NKJV
2 He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord,
But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.
26 In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence,
And His children will have a place of refuge.
27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
To turn one away from the snares of death.
Solomon could really cover some topics in his proverbs. Proverbs chapter fourteen is a great example. In this chapter, Solomon talks of oxen, backsliders, and being slow to anger. He also addresses a key area that we see in our verses for today, the fear of the Lord.
The fear of the Lord to us today is not the fear of being hurt or punished. We have a different relationship than Solomon. Remember, under the old covenant, the nation of Israel had the law of Moses, but we have the grace and truth that came through Jesus. So under the old covenant, there was a greater sense of the fear of the judgment of God. When David sinned against the Lord with Bathsheba, the prophet Nathan had to reassure David that he was not going to die.
But the principle of the fear of God should remain with us today. We have such respect for what God has done that it serves as motivation for how we live and conduct our lives. Our verses for today indicate that someone with a fear of God will live uprightly, we would say, live right before the Lord. But the one who despises, thinks little or lightly of the Lord, is the one who lives in the way of sin and error—verse twenty-seven echoes that same truth. The fear of God is the motivation that turns a person away from the snares of death. Solomon calls the fear of the Lord a fountain of life, indicating that the fear of God is life-giving. And the fear of the Lord produces strong confidence. There is something strong about living right.
Application
If under the old covenant, people could live with a fear of God, how much more should we? Is God powerful enough to be feared? Absolutely. But our fear is based on a strong respect for the one who loved us and sent His Son so that we may have eternal life and the confidence of knowing He is with us and for us. Our respect and reverence for God is not based on the fear of punishment but the fear of not pleasing the one who loves us. Very similar to the child with a strong desire to not disappoint their parents because of their love and respect for their parents. And just a note on respect for God. We should guard against the idea of being too casual with our God. He is not our peer. He is all mighty God, more worthy of respect than any powerful person on earth.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I appreciate You and all You are and have done for me. I choose to live right out of respect for You.