“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Proverbs 1:7
In my prayers, I often find myself saying,
“You are the only one worthy of worship, you are the only one worthy of praise, you are the only one worthy of fear.” And then I confess and ask for forgiveness because, “I worship, praise, and fear that which is not worthy, that which is not you. Forgive me.”
Most scholars understand the Hebrew word for fear used in proverbs, יִרְאָה yir’ah, to mean awe, reverence, wonder, and respect. I agree. Nevertheless, the word is “fear” – often translated as ‘being afraid’ – and the power and magnitude of God is worthy of that too. Thankfully, the words of Exodus, which are repeated throughout the Scriptures, remind us of the character of our fear-worthy God,
“The Lord, the Lord,
a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”
Exodus 34:6
Fear is, of course, a primal tool for survival. The APA Dictionary of Psychology defines fear as, “an appropriate, present-oriented, and short-lived response to a clearly identifiable and specific threat.” So how do we make sense of the pervasive and widespread fear that we experience and observe today? The famous neurologist, Sigmund Freud, made a distinction between Objective Fear and Neurotic Anxiety – or Real Fear and Neurotic Fear – or Fears Founded and Unfounded. I don’t pretend to fully understand the psychology here, but the concept and categories seem resonant. Not all fear is equal. And not all fear is helpful.
There is so much fear in our world today. And powers, principalities, and people are causing, exploiting, and profiting from it. Social media algorithms, news sources, product marketing, and governments use fear to their advantage. We are being bombarded with messages that manufacture and/or heighten our fears – and conveniently tell us how to address them: click, scroll, tune-in, buy, vote…
In Risk: The Science and Politics of Fear, Dan Gardner writes, “Fear sells. Fear makes money. The countless companies and consultants in the business of protecting the fearful from whatever they may fear know it only too well. The more fear, the better the sales.”
We know this. We experience it. We too often fall for it. The question is, what do we as ministry leaders do with it?
Former TMC Facilitator, Kyle Bender, spent two decades in ministry leadership before becoming a licensed marriage and family therapist. On a recent TMC Podcast, Kyle discussed the implications of a culture of fear – and the importance of ministry in its midst.
Kyle described how fear pushes us to stress behaviors where we lose connection with wisdom, rational thinking, empathy, and compassion. We become less resourceful, less grounded, less connected to our whole self, and less attentive to the best parts of life. We sacrifice a connective state for a protective one. And so the invitation to move away from fear is to, in part, slow down and remind ourselves – or be reminded – of who and whose we are.
As we lead, minister, and live in our faith communities, we must be aware of the toll that fear is taking, on us and others. Oftentimes, we are not our best selves. But this is not a time for retreat or recoil, nor for cleverness or catchiness. The Church has an abundance of practices, rites, and rituals, creeds and confessions, hymns and Scriptures that are so relevant and so needed. We can and must confront the disconnections and reductions, offer invitations, and make bold claims in the face of fear. We must be, and do, Church.
Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
The only one worthy of our fear is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
And that One tells us over and over and over again,
“Do not be afraid.”
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