If you\u2019re going to worship a god, make sure He\u2019s the God who can destroy all other gods. Don\u2019t choose those wimpy gods who cannot see or hear and don\u2019t even have the power to blow their own noses. If more people feared God, we might see more gentle treatment of each other. We might also see a greater interest in what He says.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you.\u201d (Deuteronomy 19:20<\/a> NASB95)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n My son tells me that there were a number of things he didn\u2019t do when he was younger. He avoided them because he was genuinely afraid of what I\u2019d do to him if he misbehaved. \u201cMy dad would kill me\u201d was not such a bad motivation for avoiding certain behavior. Especially when there is a lack of understanding in the child, and the big issue is just to avoid harmful behavior. Of course I wasn\u2019t ever going to actually kill (or even injure) him (shhhh!) but it didn\u2019t hurt to be afraid of me at least a little. Enough for him to avoid straying into destructive actions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I love my kids and do not want them to learn the hard way. I want them to avoid natural consequences. So I develop other, perhaps more immediate and painful, artificial consequences to help them learn how to make good choices. A swat on the butt as a reminder to obey Dad is much better than getting run over by a car. The getting run over thing tends to be a one-time only learning experience. God does the same for us.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 7I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. (Isaiah 45:7<\/a> KJV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? (Lamentations 3:37<\/a>\u201339, ESV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n God creates evil in the sense that there are bad things that happen if we don\u2019t listen to Him. He does it because He loves us, and wants us to see the cost of moving away from Him before it\u2019s too late. If a little bit of true terror will help me choose correctly, it is much better than learning too late that my choice was wrong. He wants us to fear Him above any person, teaching, or situation that might tempt us to abandon trust and obedience. It is not a blind fear that He wants, but it is still a fear that is tinged partly with terror as well as respect and reverence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 14I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. (Ecclesiastes 3:14<\/a> KJV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 12\u201cYou are not to say, \u2018It is a conspiracy!\u2019 In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it. 13\u201cIt is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread. (Isaiah 8:12-13<\/a> NASB95)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fear of Him should override fear of anything else. If we are His kids, we do not fear destruction or rejection. But it\u2019s good to be afraid of what He can and will do if we are not on His good side. If you are not His kid, you have every right to be terrified when He comes for you in judgment. One way or the other, sooner or later, fear of Him will impress itself on everyone. Better to feel it now and move closer to Him than to feel it when it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From Whole Bible Christianity chapter 2<\/a> Fear<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you\u2019re going to worship a god, make sure He\u2019s the God who can destroy all other gods. Don\u2019t choose those wimpy gods who cannot see or hear and don\u2019t even have the power to blow their own noses. If … read more