Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Fear of Man

"The fear of man lays a snare,
    but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe." Proverbs 29:25

A few years ago, I heard the term "fear of man" in a service at The Village Church, and I had NO idea what they were talking about. Are you asking yourself "what the hey-honk is fear of man"??

Let me borrow Edward T. Welch's definition of the biblical term "fear of man" from his book, When People are Big and God is Small:
"..the fear of man can be summarized this way: We replace God with people. Instead of a biblically guided fear of the Lord, we fear others. Of course, the 'fear of man' goes by other names. When we are in our teens, it is called 'peer pressure'. When we are older, it is called 'people-pleasing'. Recently, it has been called 'codependency'."

Here is a list of "symptoms" that Edward gives for "fear of man": "struggle with peer pressure, over-committed (hard to say no to things), you 'need' something from your spouse, self-esteem is a critical concern, you feel you might be exposed as an imposter, you second-guess decisions because of what people might think, you feel empty or meaningless, you get easily embarrassed, you tell white lies, you're jealous of others, other people often make you angry or depressed, you avoid people, you diet (the desire for the praise of men), you compare yourself to others (even if you feel more successful than others)."

Now, that you know what I'm talking about, I can share how God has been convicting me of my "fear of man" issues through 1 Samuel. I literally have a list of over 20 verses that I highlighted during this bible study, but these were the "big" ones that God used to convict me of my "fear of man":

**And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 1Sam. 8:7
 
 **If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well.  But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king. 1Sam. 12:14-15

**And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” And Saul eyed David from that day on. 1Sam. 18:8-9

The Israelites demanded that Samuel provided a king to reign over them, because they wanted to be like the other nations. Fear of man! The Israelites rejected God, and chose to idolize man and the other nations that they so desperately wanted to be like. Fear of Man! Samuel warned the people "fear the LORD and serve him and obey his voice...or else...the hand of the LORD will be against you and your king", but the Israelites didn't care. They chose a king over God. Fear of man! Saul is jealous of an Israelite song because it makes David look better than him...seriously??? A song creates jealousy and then Saul ends up hating and chasing David...he wants to kill David over a song?!?! Fear of man to the highest power!

And every time I read a verse like the ones above, I felt God say "this is you, you are like Saul". Yes, I fear man more than I fear the Lord. God has been working on my heart with this issue for the past year and a half, but has been heavily convicting me of this sin through 1 Samuel.

It's time to fear the Lord, to serve Him, to worship Him alone. Period. May He forgive me and heal me out His mercy and grace.

"Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
    and makes flesh his strength,[a]
    whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a shrub in the desert,
     and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salt land.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
     whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
    that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
    for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
    for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Jer. 17:5-8 

linking up at:
Tales of Beauty for Ashes

18 comments:

  1. Great post. This is something I feel like I struggle with the most. I think way too much about how other PEOPLE see me rather than what God sees in my life.

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    1. you're not alone!! This is the sin that I struggle with the most too!!! may God tune our hearts to idolize Him alone!

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  2. The phrase "fear of man" being defined as "people pleasing" is incredibly eye opening! I never looked at it that way!!! That's everywhere! I have heard so many people use "people pleaser" as a personality description. It isn't a defining characteristic. It's a sin! Wow!

    Great great post!!

    Thanks for linking up with us today!

    Falen

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    1. When I first heard the definition of fear of man from Welch's book I felt so convicted. I use to think that being a people-pleaser was a 'good' thing...that it made me a good employee...nope, it's a sin. That's for hosting this link-up! I love reading what God is up to in everyone's life!

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  3. That is some good stuff! I love the definition and examples you put on top because it really brings it into perspective of what it means to fear man. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Welch's book "When People are Big and God is Small" is a great book for defining fear of man, and learning to see God as bigger =)

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  4. New follower = great post. Hope you will stop in and visit some time!
    http://pjgraves51.blogspot.com

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    1. Hi Pamela! I'm headed over to your blog now =)

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  5. AWESOME post!! Well said! It definitely spoke to my heart! I've struggled with that same issue for a while and God is definitely helping me in that area. [New Follower via today's link up!] =)

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    1. well, you're not alone in your struggle! praying for God to tune our hearts to worship Him alone! =) headed over to your page now!

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  6. It is so easy to worry about what others think. To forget that is Him we are to please, to follow, to obey. Thank you for the reminder to please Him, not people. Stoppin by from Into the Word....I'm a Texas girl married to a Mainah Fisherman ;) Stop by my corner sometime! simplyhelpinghim.com

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  7. ugh. This is totally something I struggle with. I want to give it up and only trust in the Savior...why is that so hard??

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    1. I don't know why it's so hard...but this is the hardest sin for me to give up...it seems like it should be so easy

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  8. This is SOOO convicting! The older I get the better I get about the people pleasing but it is still so hard sometimes. This is something I will be coming back to to read again! Reason #101 why I love ya girl!!!

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    1. 1 Samuel has been super convicting! It's been kicking my butt!!!

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  9. I just found your blog and fell in love. I've been struggling so much to get back into a relationship with Christ and this post gave me a little extra boost. Ah, I'm so pumped to keep exploring your blog and read more about your relationship with The Lord.

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    1. Hi Aimee! May God continue to stir your heart and give you a fierce desire to pursue His heart! =)

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