Fearing God is a Good Idea
Fear and Anger are necessary but only in specific circumstances.
This whole idea of whether or not it is a good idea to fear God is debated among believers and non-believers alike.
For the most part it is a given that those who do not believe God exists would be foolish to have any fear about the matter, with perhaps one possible exception.
It is probably reasonable to fear that they might be wrong.
In this case it is understandable to be a little nervous God might show up.
Converting from unbelieving to believing happens all the time and often this involves having either an encounter with God, that he actually shows up and disturbs the confident tranquility that atheism seemed to promise, or a near-death experience where someone discovers a capacity to be religious they hadn’t before thought they had.
The debate about fearing God for religious folk is usually a question of degree. How much should we trust and love God and how much should we fear him?
Such a debate is, as far as I can tell, unfruitful. This is because it’s all about personal opinions.
Fear is not all bad.
It keeps us from doing a lot of stupid things.
And without fear learning to be courageous is unnecessary.
Without fear of loss every relationship will be weak and not worth fighting for.
Fear is linked to danger both real and imagined.
This creates a problem to solve.
What should be feared and what fears should be overcome?
These are fundamental questions of life and I personally believe that our level of maturity and happiness in life are greatly affected on how we go about solving these problems.
This leads me to thinking about fear and God. We need both, but over time, if we pursue knowing God, fear of other things — like aging and death — are brought under control, no longer afflicting us with unnecessary worry.
Fear and Conversion
I understand the desire to safely evangelize people into God’s Kingdom. We hope children find Jesus in Sunday School or while sitting quietly somewhere reading the Bible. We certainly want to protect them from being prodigals before finding a healthy relationship with God. On the other hand it seems most people, like dormant engines, need a jolt to come to life.
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The precepts of the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.
Psalms 19:7-11 (ESV)