Fear of God

David and I have been on the road a lot the past two weekends. We left Miss Syd with my brother in Marion for a week, which required us to make the trek ourselves four times in total. We talked about a lot of topics over the rides to and fro. We also listened to a lot of good music... and some not so good music. You see, David loves Rick Springfield.

Yes... I mean "You know I wish that I had Jesse's Girl" Rick Springfield. I am also perfectly aware that it is not 1985 or even 1993. Still, the man likes what the man likes. And as a supportive wife, I bear through 3-4 minutes of sound pollution (ok, I am exaggerating) to demonstrate my love.

One Rick Springfield song I found particularly offensive, was called Like Father, Like Son. And in the chorus was a line I found particularly unsettling "Fear of God and the feel of the rod will raise a good boy."

Yuck - bluck - spitting feeling in the mouth gross. I am picturing Tom Hanks wiping his tongue after he eats caviar in Big. "Nuh-uh!" I want to say, "Fear of God and the feel of the rod does not raise good children. It raises future therapy clients."

And that is how I have felt about fear of God in a nutshell for the vast majority of my life. Fear of God damages people, it interferes in their relationship with God. The phrase "fear God" in the Bible is better translated "stand in awe of God." Done. Settled.

Accept.... it's not.

Ironically, after I had my disgust reaction to Rick Springfield I found myself in a long conversation with my brother and nephew about the Church in America. About it's supposed political marriage with issues of intolerance, oppression and greed. About my rage, at the sheer hypocrisy of so many folks - that folks who publicly identify as my brothers and sisters refer to the poor as leeches or make racial or sexual slurs. Not to mention the endless supply of pastors who get caught cheating on their wives, using drugs or embezzling church funds.

I found myself saying things like - "You know... I am not talking about folks outside of the church. I am talking about people who claim to take the idea seriously that there is an Everlasting, Eternal, Holy, Righteous, Omniscient and Omnipotent God. How can you spit in His face?!? How can you so egregiously disregard His Word?!?" Which at the end is really... They ought to fear God.

We ought to fear God.

Not just in the "WOW isn't He big, like the ocean" kinda way. If we confess to be Christian, we ought to fear Him.

Now here's the problem - people fear God for all kinds of wrong reasons. For example, We ought not to fear him because He is mean - because He is kindness. We ought not to fear Him because He is punitive - because He is merciful.  We ought not to fear Him because He is unloving - because He is love.

So what is to fear? Well God sealed my understanding on this issue by directing me to the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5: 1-11.

You see Ananias and Sapphira thought they could pull one over on God and everybody else. They sold a field and thought they would look super generous by giving "all the money" to the church. Accept it wasn't all the money. They lied. The Bible is unclear about why they lied; but we can guess that personal accolade was a huge motive. "Won't we look so big and bad to all of our friends at the church."

And do you know what happened. They were both struck down dead.

Whoa... *deep breath*

Holy crap! God just struck people down dead! In the New Testament! Whoa!

Why?!

Well, hear is my take. God sees us. I mean it - there is no, No, NO b.s.-ing Him. He is also capable of revealing that true nature at any time.

This was true for Ananias and Sapphira... God saw them and what he saw was their true selves: spiritually corrupt and destitute - DEAD. Here they were trying to come off as super-spiritual, pillars of the Christian community and God saw what was going on in them. And, in this case, He exposed them both through knowledge (i.e., Peter saw and announced their deeds) and in their physical consequences (i.e., you are not alive but dead). 

So... Fear God. Why? Because He sees you and He can (and eventually will) expose you. We ought to fear God because He is Truth and we - well - we are often liars.  

Dearest Creator God,

You are Truth. This is a scary fact, when I have bought into deceit, when I have perpetrated deceit. You are Light. This is a scary fact, when I want to hide in the darkness. Push me forth. Compel me. I renounce my alliance with deception. Forgive me. I offer my heart to the Truth. Help me to lead a life of transparency and clarity, so that I have nothing to fear in You, Author of Life. 

Amen.