Not All Fear Should Be Feared

Among the many things my son has learned as he has grown, fear is one of them. When he learned to walk and run, he paid little attention to what was in front of him—but after a few run-ins with the doorcases, he slowed his pace and learned to make wide turns through doorways. The first time he adventured under the dinner table, he didn’t take note of how much head-room he had—but after a few bonks on the head, he learned to duck under with his eyes up.

We often condemn fear, but is there perhaps a level of fear that’s good and God-given? We fear wild animals like coyotes, bears, and snakes because they could harm us, and so we do our best to keep our distance from them. We fear our children will run in traffic in front of our houses, so we warn them about the dangers of the road and set up boundaries in the yard.

But we also know the Bible often condemns fear. We’re told not to worry, not to fear, but to be bold and courageous. How do we reconcile these two? How do we know the difference between good fear and bad fear?

Fear the Bible condemns seats self at the center. Fear of man is fuelled by a desire for approval. Fear of failure is driven by a desire to collect praise. Fear of missing out is energized by a desire to have the best. This fear takes us by the hand and shows us all the ways we need to protect ourselves, even if it means shoving another in harm’s path or blocking our ears to God’s command.

This is a disordered fear. It places ourselves at the top rather than God’s glory and our neighbours’ well-being. It’s unwise fear, often acting rashly. It’s a fear similar to the panic that sends a deer bolting back across the road because its last memory of safety was on the other side (despite the trucks and cars it must dodge along the way).

So then, perhaps good fear is woven with wisdom and love. It’s fear set in motion by a desire to reflect God and see our neighbours thrive. It acts in a timely manner but with aged knowledge. This kind of fear keeps us home when the roads glimmer with ice. This fear springs us forward when our child toddles over to a snarling, snapping dog. This fear keeps us sitting in silence next to a grieving friend because we are afraid of saying something that will only pile on pain. This fear tells us to download programs on our computers when we’re tempted to look at porn again.

This fear doesn’t act without wisdom. It doesn’t declare with its head in the air, “My God will protect me, I can do whatever I please.” Rather, it takes note of how God created his world to operate and seeks to step forward in light of that learned knowledge from life and Scripture. It doesn’t put God to the test. It calculates the income needed and the food to be bought. All the while it relies on God to keep supplying common grace to the world.

But there is yet another type of fear that’s good for us, one that the Bible sings the praises of: Fear of the Lord. It’s there we find wisdom to gain the previous type of healthy fear. Fear of the Lord shatters self-fueled fear. It’s like a sticky note to our hearts reminding us that God is more fearsome than anything else we will encounter. In this way, it reorders our fears, knocking selfish fear to the bottom and pulling good fear up. It bows our faces to the ground before our awesome God and calls us to bring every concern to his fatherly throne.

We don’t tremble like a servant who is unknown before the King. We are beckoned as beloved children by our Father, as John Calvin describes. We are children who know our Father is worthy of respect and our best work, but we bring that work before him knowing we have his joy and a secure place in his palace. This fear schools us in his Word that we may bring what’s pleasing before God and mirror his goodness each day.

Not all fear should be feared—some should be honoured. The fear of the Lord should be pursued even when our feet blister and ache from running after it. We should be in God’s Word digging for this wisdom-saturated fear. And we should likewise set up watchposts to guard ourselves from selfish fear that often intrudes. And as we do, we will grow in wisdom to recognize the difference between good fear and bad, and fear our God above all.