to fear or not to fear

Today in A Year with the Church Fathers, we hear from St. Hermes. He tells us that if we fear God, we need not fear the devil. Fearing God, who is all powerful, keeps us from needing to fear the devil, who can do nothing to us if we're following God.

So this, along with many verses in the Bible, tell us to fear God. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom," says Proverbs 9:10. But the greatest commandment that Jesus gave us was to "love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength." And 1 John 4:18 says that perfect love casts out fear. So which is it? Should we love God, which casts out fear, or should we fear God, like Proverbs tells us to?

Well, it's both. It has to do with two things. One is the meaning of the word "fear". When we're told to "fear" God, it means to respect Him. To obey Him. And to take seriously that what He tells us is important and that we should follow it. Just as we obey our parents, even when we don't feel like it, because we "fear" them, so should we obey God because we "fear" Him. We know that He means it when He tells us things, and we obey Him out of respect, knowing that punishment could follow if we do not.

The second thing is that we grow from fear to love. When we're very young, we obey our parents out of more fear than love. But as we grow older, we learn to love them more and fear them less. With maturity comes more love, less fear. So it is with our relationship with God. At first, we do what He teaches us because we're afraid that He'll punish us. We fear hell. We fear His removing His blessings.

But as we mature, we begin to learn the meaning behind His commands. We see His wisdom. We obey Him out of love, and not out of fear. Fear of the LORD IS the beginning of wisdom... and love of the LORD is the fulfillment of it.

God, please help us to grow from fear to love - and in both, to resist the advances of the enemy.