What the fear of God means to me

jennifer_bloom
Christian Musician Matt Redman had “The Friendship and the Fear.” As his label slogan on his CD panel
Christian Musician Matt Redman had “The Friendship and the Fear.” As his label slogan on his CD panel

In the same way that this Christian Musician coincides the friendship of God with the fear of God, so the fear of God makes you friendly towards others, and this friendliness is an expression of your fear of God, not of man. Fear of man makes you cowardly and dishonest, but fear of God, makes you courageous, accommodating, alert, and helpful.

When you fear God, you do not dominate the conversation, because you give other people a chance to talk. You care, not only for whether people meet your expectations, but also whether you meet there’s. When there is a party, you graciously share your food with others, and avoid hoarding the lobster and steak, because you want to give others a chance to eat.

When you attend a party, you spend your time in the kitchen cooking and washing dishes, and not out in the open, showing off your Prada bag and bragging about your raise at work, so to me, fearing God, coincides with friendly and cooperative behaviour with others, such as standing up on a bus, so others can sit down.

To fear God, also means being inclusive, by showing respect for people of different racial, linguistic, cultural, intellectual, financial, professional, religious and spiritual backgrounds. In the same way that doctors don’t assess gender or intelligence before treating their patient, so Christians must not look at hair and make up, before deciding whether or not to love and respect somebody else.

What the fear of God means to me
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