The Safety Net of Fear

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

The fear of the Lord is the glue that holds a society together.  The fear of the Lord is the safety net that keeps a nation from falling into anarchy and great chaos.  And for the most part, unfortunately, we have lost the fear of the Lord in our nation.

Here is a story of a public school teacher who retired early. When asked why, she responded:

“The problem is really fear.  The teachers are now afraid of the principals.  The principals are afraid of the superintendents.  The superintendents are afraid of the school boards.  The boards are afraid of the parents.  And the parents are afraid of the children.  But the children?  They’re not afraid of anybody.”

We have lost the fear of the Lord in our homes.  So what is the “fear of the Lord“?  I like what Proverbs 8:13 says to sum it all up:  “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil” (16:6).

In Deuteronomy 6, fathers are instructed to teach their children the fear of the Lord.  How does a child learn the fear of the Lord?  This may surprise you, but a child learns the fear of the Lord by first experiencing the fear of a father.  They should fear their father in the biblical sense.  If a child never learns to “fear” his earthly father, then how is he ever going to learn to “fear” his Heavenly Father?

Make no mistake about it.  We had a lot of fun with our dad.  And we knew that our dad loved us.  We didn’t shake when he walked into the room with fear, or even fear that he might lose control.  He did not beat us and he didn’t go into rages.  He was much in control, but he meant what he said.  There were consequences if not followed through.  They were “Meaningful Consequences.”  And those consequences had the effect of making you avoid the same behavior in the future.

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