We often have the wrong impression of the word, “fear,” and rightly so when not interpreted according to how it is used in Scripture.  The culture in which we live ignores the role that God has in shaping the lives of mankind.  It has little fear of God and Who He is.  People don’t want to accept that man should have a healthy fear of God, which should be interpreted as a reverence of God and to acknowledge His sovereignty.  A leader is to have a healthy fear of God by humbling himself through the right relationship with Him through Jesus with obedience, honor and respect.  This kind of healthy fear is truly the beginning of knowledge of how to live and lead the Christian life.  It is a healthy fear based on the foundation of God’s love and that He knows what is best for us.

My father was from the “old school.”  He was a godly man but hard-nosed and strict.  He rarely expressed love verbally, but I knew that he loved me.  He loved me because He wanted me to accept Jesus and to carry on the Christian heritage and name of Jesus in our family.  He told me that he expected me to live in a way that would never tarnish our family name or the name of Jesus.  Like God’s love for us through Christ, I never wanted to do anything that disappointed my father.  I had a healthy fear to be obedient and not do things that would reflect badly on our family.  I wanted to please him out of respect and reverence.  We should ask ourselves, “How fearful are we of disobeying God the Father?”  Further instructions for us are found in Deuteronomy 13:4 “You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.”  Oswald Chambers said it well, “The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if do not fear God, you will fear everything else.”