Do you ever spend long periods of time in conjecture about the motivations of another person? Do you wonder a lot about what people think of you? Do you worry about what someone might do to you in the future? Do you find yourself feeling insecure in new situations, driven nearly crazy because you are trying to “figure these people out”, trying to discover “what makes them tick?” Do you ever fear failure and public scorn so much that you shrink back from all public service?
If this describes you, you might be suffering from the fear of man.
Here are a couple of observations from the Bible about how serious this is.
(a) The fear of man cannot co-reside in your heart with a fear of God. If the fear of man is strong, your fear of God is weak. Notice that the fear of man is the opposite of trusting in the Lord. And remember that the worst they can do is kill you…physically! If you fear God, they can’t take away the true life you have in God.
Pro 29: 25 “The fear of man is a snare, but the one who trusts in the LORD is protected.”
Luke 12: 4-5 “And I say to you, My friends, don’t fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more.”
JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE in this regard. Because He totally didn’t fear, and because He completely loved, He even died! And in doing so, He accomplished something that is very precious to all of us!
(b) Fear of man takes control of a person’s life, even making us disobedient. For example, it might tell us to “stay put” when God says to “go”. It also takes away the joy of cheerful Biblical obedience. In the following verses it describes people that I am naturally sympathetic towards. Of course they were afraid (I tend to think) and yet the real problem is that they loved the praise of men more than the praise from God.
John 12:42-43 “Nevertheless, many did believe in Him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, so they would not be banned from the synagogue. For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.”
(c) Love is the opposite of fear.
John 15: 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
I John 4:18 There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love.
Dear God, I confess my fear of man to You. Please fill me with your love to the point that I cease to care about my reputation, that I cease to worry about the future, and that I can courageously pursue the work that you have called me to do . . . even if that work is in public sometimes. Please grant me the true “perfection in love”.
Jesus - Our Example 