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.