Fright, Part IV

Worldly fear is rooted in selfishness. It is the root of hate and arrogance. We all fall into times when we do not understand certain things. Sometimes when we don't understand things, we tend to respond with fear. This is a selfish fear of not fitting in, not being accepted, losing control, feeling insecure, or when our independence is challenged. We fear the loss of something.

We must be careful as Christians to not act out worldly fear because the end result is not terror but instead leads to anger, hate, arrogance, jealousy, violence, and strife.

Godly fear is rooted in selflessness. It is understanding our place and that He is above us. He is smarter than we are. He understands more than we do. He is limitless. All things are within His control whether He acts on things or not, is strictly up to Him. Again, He will intervene if it suits His will but He will never violate our free will. He will allow Satan to run this world and play the liar and destroyer for a time, unless of course you are a Christian in His hands. For us, He protects, helps, and becomes our sole support.

It is up to us to reverence God. To stand in awe of Him. We respect His power and what He is capable of. We know that His wrath is not for us, but in humility, we show Him fear anyway. It is a gesture of a humble heart before God. Yet, make no mistake, His wrath is more terrible and horrible than anything we could possibly dream up.

 Job 31:23

²³ For I dreaded destruction from God,
       and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.