Sonship Fear vs Slavish Fear
Devotion 11 – Sonship Fear vs Slavish Fear
There are
two types of fear revealed to us in the scriptures – a healthy “sonship” fear
of God and a destructive, slavish fear. The sonship fear of
God produces a holy reverence, pleasure, joy, awe and respect for His
righteous judgment, and an understanding of the Lord’s heart of compassion and
love mingled with His unwavering holiness. It ignites adoration and worship and
keeps us away from evil. This type of fear is critical for a healthy spiritual
life and we should all cultivate it.
However,
there is another type of fear which is harmful and unfavourable to both our
physical and spiritual well-being. It is the slavish fear which is based on a flawed
and inaccurate understanding of the Father heart of God.
Slavish
fear makes us cower in horror just like how a child lives in dread and terror
of an abusive father. Slavish fear has an image of God as unforgiving and
merciless, waiting and watching to catch us making mistakes so that He can
condemn and punish us. It makes us tip-toe through life as if the world is made
of glass. This kind of fear makes us draw away from God, rather than draw near
to Him, because of our sense of guilt and condemnation. It can make us lives in
phobia and paralyses us from serving God with courage and faith.
Matt.25:24-25 - “Then he who had received the
one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you
have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid and went and hid your
talent in the ground. Look, there you
have what is yours.’
The unhealthy fear incapacitated the
servant the courage to take risk and lead him into a performance-oriented
relationship with God. Likewise, if we have a slavish kind of fear, it makes
our obedience somewhat reluctant, and we will always be driven by result rather
than a desire to please a loving Father.
Spirit of Fear vs Spirit of the Fear of the Lord
2 Tim.1:7 – “For God has
not given us a spirit of fear, but of
power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Isa.11:1-3 – “There shall
come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch
shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit
of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord…”
The bible tells us that God has not given us a
spirit of fear; instead, He has given us the spirit of the fear of the Lord
through Christ Jesus. And it is important that we distinguish the difference -
as the former leads us away from God, while the latter leads us to enjoy and
delight in His presence.
The spirit of fear, if not dealt with, can
develop into very serious mental conditions or irrational fear like
agoraphobia. Some people are just fearful of everything - fearful of losing
what is important to them, their family, the career, their health, their
wealth, etc. etc. This unhealthy fear makes us want to control the world around
us; it makes us cling tightly to everything. Worst of all, it pulls us away
from God as we can never come to a point where we fully trust and surrender our
lives to Him.
However, the spirit of the fear of the Lord is
fear that make us trust and run to Him, keep His commandments, and love Him.
We may fear the authority but that doesn’t mean that whenever we see a
policeman, we will tremble and have a panic attack. We are certainly not afraid
of a police officer if we haven’t done anything wrong. As a matter of fact, I would feel more secure
in the presence of the police officer if I am in an unfamiliar place. The law
enforcer is our friend if we obeys the law.
Likewise, if we follow God, and love God in our heart, we have no need
to fear His judgment. In fact, we should be filled with joy and excitement
because we will get to be in the presence of God for the rest of eternity. That
is when we will get our reward and inherit the Kingdom of God. Those who truly
fear God can’t wait for God’s coming judgment and Kingdom.
C.S. Lewis’
book, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, tells
of the adventures of four children in the magical kingdom of Narnia. The story
is an allegory of Christ and salvation, with Christ represented by the lion
Aslan. When in Narnia, the children meet Mr and Mrs Beaver, who describe the
mighty lion to them.
As Mr. Beaver said of Aslan, “Safe? Who said
anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.”
We are living in a culture that has become
casual and irreverent to authority and the same attitude it has contaminated
our spiritual life. Yes, God is love, gracious, compassionate and is good,
however, He is also a holy and righteous, approach
him with respect and reverence.
Comments
Post a Comment