Fear of Man

             Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.  (Proverbs 29:25)

                What are you afraid of? Chances are good, you’ll answer with something like spiders, snakes, death, or public speaking. You might suggest something like lions, tigers, bears, or Great Whites. The key involved is that these all provoke great aversion. I used to stop gardening once the spiders showed up on the plants. I’ll admit that I’m not likely to want to swim in the ocean, especially off the coast of South Africa and if there were a tiger on the loose in my area, I’m not likely to sit outside, even knowing that tigers are rarely man-eaters. That’s one kind of fear.

                And someone could have that sort of fear of other people, while others might be afraid of a certain sort of other person: serial killers, mass shooters, rapists, members of whatever group is being associated with ultimate evil, etc. Those sorts of fears would certainly be a snare, making it almost impossible to live a normal life. But there’s another sort of fear of man that can also snare us. It’s not a fear of physical harm, but more of a relational, social, or emotional thing. The positive side of it is a respect for others, but it’s easily turned into a negative thing involving the fear of rejection. This is the sort of fear that can turn into a snare because it leads to our doing things that are evil, or at least not wise, to avoid offending someone.

                One of the problems with this sort of fear is that there are approximately eight billion people in the world. Not offending this one means offending that one. Even if you narrow it down to a group of ten people, they’re not going to agree. Some may change their minds from one day to the next. It’s the sort of snare that leads (at least figuratively) to jumping through hoops.

                I must also note that rebellion against these same people, in an insistence on independence and freedom is also a form of fearing them. If your choices are made relative to the preferences of others, whether positive or negative, your are still chained to them.  And even if you only choose one person about whose opinions you will obsess, that person’s opinions may change, or may never have your best interests at heart, no matter how lofty their ideals.

                On the other hand, there is God, who does not change. God, who loves you and does have your best interests in mind even if you don’t agree. And God has told us in Scripture what He requires. The guessing game of man’s approval goes away. No more trying to spin ten, a hundred, or eight billion plates.