The God-Fearing Man

Introduction

I recently conducted a social experiment after I noticed that many women speak of the so-called God-fearing man. So being the curious guy I am, I started an account on a dating website. I did all the things necessary. In my description of who I am, I was brutally honest, well as honest as I would be if I was looking for a lady. I mentioned that I am just looking for a friend, more specifically, a friends with benefits kind of relationship.

I waited and waited and waited with no reply. I then started looking at what the women on the site were looking for. What struck me the most was that favourite line, "Looking for a GOD-FEARING man to love me and . . ." What struck me the most is that no matter what followed, God-fearing man was on the agenda. I then changed my profile and added, "I am a God-Fearing man looking for a God-Fearing woman. . ." Low and behold, likes and messages starting pouring in.

This had me thinking, what is this obsession with a God-fearing man and why it is so important to the ladies but that thought was taken over and a more important argument surfaced. God is a positive energy and fear is a negative emotion. How do the two meet each other? I looked up a few scriptures and formulated an argument whereby I argue that a God-Loving man is more effective than a God-Fearing man.

The God-Fearing Man

So what does the scripture say about a God-Fearing man? In Genesis 42:18, it says, "Joseph wins his brothers' trust when he declares he is a God-fearing man. It was because the midwives feared God that they obeyed him instead of the authorities by sparing the Hebrew babies." Another scripture goes on to say, “Pharaoh brought disaster on his nation because he did not fear God" (Exodus 9:29-31). More scriptures about the fear of God are; (Exodus 18:21), (Exodus 20:20), (Leviticus 19:14, 32), (Matthew 10:28), (2 Corinthians 7:1), etc.

The point of the above, relating to scripture, is for me to show a pattern. In all of the above scriptures, there was one thing that I picked up on. It is mostly through the fear of God that people are cohered into doing things. It is not by the love that they have for God and respect that they do things. Fear in itself is a negative emotion. the website where I found the scripture, the writer claims, "So it's clear from these passages, that fearing God is good because it saves us from caving into our own sinful nature. That's why hearing someone isGod-fearing actually makes us trust that person more. If they fear God, they are more likely to keep their word and treat others with kindness." 

I read the above and it made me think, this is clearly a system of control. Control by invoking the emotion of fear. I argue that a God-fearing man is not truly a man of God. I say this because if you fear your maker, you cannot love them. How do you love when you are in fear? It is like when abused women claim they love their abuser. They fear him but yet love him? Does that make sense? Fear, is the same tactic used by dictators to keep control of their countries, the same tactic used to control the actions and minds of people. I doubt God would give us free will then turn around and try and control our minds using the fear of him.

The God-Loving Man

I made a quick search about the love of God. The most famous Bible verse about love is undoubtedly, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres “(1 Corinthians 13:4-8 there are many scriptures about the love of God. 

One of my favourites being Luke 10:27 which states, "And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." As you read some of these, you can feel the power of love. Why then, shall I fear God when his/her love alone is enough to galvanise me to do his willing. Example of the power of love is the love of lovers. When you love someone, you do not want to hurt them and always want to make them happy not because you fear what might happen to you if you don’t but because deep down you want to do it without being forced.

The power of love can be seen all around us. Love thy neighbour as thyself. That is a powerful verse. When you love your neighbour, you will not judge, you will not be jealous of him. In my opinion, that verse alone covers the whole Ten Commandments and more, it is the ultimate showing of a true man of God. Being a God-loving man opens your mind to other people's beliefs and allows you to understand people better. Once you rid yourself of fear, the world opens up. You become closer to the Father because you ask many questions about him and get to know him instead of just accepting things the way they are because of fear.

Conclusion

In the end, it all up to you. You can choose to live in fear of the Father of shine in the abundance of his love. To all the ladies and gentlemen who may read this, stop looking for God-Fearing man and woman and instead, look for a God-Loving man or woman. A man or woman who you will discussion with about the Father and not rebuke you for asking questions because their faith is deeply rooted in the fear of the Father. 

Those who are God-fearing are often judgmental and stuck in their ways of control, which ironically, are created by man. Fear and Love are the difference between being a religious being and a spiritual being. The choice is yours!