Some
people see God as a cosmic bully rather than a loving Father. For many, this is
due to having experienced sexual, physical, and/or emotional abuse from their
biological father or a stepfather. When they read or hear the word “father,”
their first reaction is fear, rejection, bitterness, or hatred.
Other
people reject God because of having been forced as a child to attend a church
or church school where the pastors, priests, or teachers were controlling,
punishing, or manipulative. Their view of God has been shaped by their
experiences from authority figures who supposedly represented and spoke for
God.
Both
groups, seeing through the filter of their abuse at the hands of fathers (and
mothers who did not protect them) and the harsh and judgmental treatment from
adults who claimed to represent God and the Church, often find it difficult to
believe in a loving heavenly Father. Having escaped the bonds of their
tormentors who ruled by fear at home or in church, they are determined not to
allow themselves to be put in bondage again by anyone, including God.
Even
when they desperately want to believe that God loves them, they find it difficult
to overcome their mistrust. When they read verses in the Bible that tell us to
fear God and to submit to Him, the defense mechanisms they developed for
survival are triggered. The fear of God and the God of fear becomes just
another in a long line of bullies in their lives that must be resisted.
But
what if God is not a God of fear, but a God of love? What if God is not who they, our tormentors, have told us He
is? Then, what does it mean to “fear the Lord?”
There
are two kinds of fear we need to be aware of when we are trying to understand
what the scriptures are telling us when the “fear of the LORD” is mentioned. One,
and the one most of us think of first, means fear in the sense of judgment and
punishment. This is the message, be afraid, be very afraid. It is the kind of
fear the “fire and brimstone” message produces.
The
second kind of fear in “the fear of the LORD” can mean either reverence for the
LORD or an acknowledgment of His power and authority. In the Old Testament the phrase ‘the fear of the LORD’ was understood to mean” reverential trust, including the hatred
of evil.” 1
John
Gill, a theologian of the 1700’s, explains that ‘the fear of the Lord’ is not meant as “a
servile fear, a fear of punishment, of hell, wrath, and damnation,” but a
relationship of child to parent kind
of fear with the “ knowledge of God as a father, of his love and grace in
Christ, particularly of his forgiving love.” Based on faith or trust of God,
this kind of fear is to have a “reverential affection and devotion to him.” 2
In the following verses, the same
root word for fear is used in the original Hebrew text (see Strong’s
Concordance #03372), and carries the following meanings:
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These verses make much more sense
when we read them with the understanding that the fear being spoken of is
reverence, awe, honor, and respect, rather than terror. Try it yourself,
substituting one of these other meanings for the word “fear” in the verses.
Deuteronomy 6:13 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him,
and shalt swear by his name.
Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what
does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear
the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the LORD
your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deuteronomy 10:20 Fear the LORD your God and
serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name
Proverbs 8:13 To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil
behavior and perverse speech.
Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy one is understanding.
Isaiah 11:2, 3 The Spirit of
the LORD will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding the
Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD – and he will delight
in the fear of the LORD…
Jeremiah 32:40 I will make an
everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I
will inspire them to fear me, so
that they will never turn away from me.
What
did Jesus believe about the “fear of the LORD?”
Matthew
4:10 “…Begone Satan, for it is
written, Thou shalt worship the
Lord, thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
Jesus was reminding Satan of what was written in Deuteronomy (see above), and Himself
replaces the word “fear” with “worship.”
The answer to the question “Is God a Cosmic Bully?”
is a resounding No!
He does not want us to serve Him or obey Him because
we are afraid of Him and what He might do to us if we don’t.
Does He want us to love, respect, honor, revere,
worship, and stand in awe of Him? Yes!
And why shouldn’t He? And why shouldn’t we? He is the Creator and Sustainer of
the universe! The Creator and Sustainer of us!
In fact, He is our very breath! Why would we not stand in awe of Him? Why would
we not honor Him and worship Him? Why would we not love Him?
God is not
a bully. He is not forcing His will on us. He loves us with a love so
unconditional, so pure, and so complete that His desire is to adopt us into His
family to be co-heirs with Jesus. He won’t bully us into accepting this gift,
but He weeps when we do. He weeps because He knows the splendor of what He is
offering, and the degradation and death our rejection of Him brings to us.
Whether
our wounds are from abusive parents or an abusive church or something else, God’s
love and acceptance are the keys to our healing.
1)Scofield Reference Bible Notes.
See Psalms 19:9 notes 2) John Gill
Exposition of the Bible:
THOUGHTS FOR REFLECTION
·
Have I experienced abuse by those
who were supposed to protect me? How has that shaped my view of God?
·
Do I fear surrendering control of my
life to God? What am I afraid might happen if I did?
·
Do I think or feel that God loves
me? What difference in my life would it make to know that God loves me?
Join us next week for
Part 4: God is a
Loving Father
_______________________________________
I
pray you are blessed by today’s sharing, and I invite your comments and prayer
requests.
Love,
Hugs, and Blessings!
Syandra
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