The fear of the Lord is a guardrail keeping us on the narrow road (Matthew 10:17-30). Though we are created for relationship with God and with others, sin has drastically affected our God-given desire for acceptance. If we are not careful, we will want human praise more than praise from God. Without guardrails, we will seek the approval of others by obsessively trying to please them, by performing in such a way as to garner their attention. Having a healthy fear of God – where we are utterly in awe of who He is – keeps us from perpetual people-pleasing and positions us to receive the abundant life He has to offer us (Matthew 10:28-30; John 10:10). We grow in our fear of God by intentionally spending time getting to know Him better, by focusing on who He is and who He is revealed to be in Scripture.
