The Fear of Man Is a Snare
The Fear Of Man Is A Snare
“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” – Proverbs 29:25
Have you ever been intimidated into doing something you knew was wrong?
Have you ever been intimidated into not doing something you knew was the right thing to do?
People can be pretty intimidating. Sometimes they may intimidate us directly and sometimes more subtly. Consider these two work situations.
- Sally sees one of her coworkers, Elle, steal some money out of a cash register. Elle sees that Sally saw her. So, Elle goes over to Sally and threatens that if Sally tells anyone what she saw, Elle will tell their boss that (Sally) was cheating on her time card.
- Ed is hoping to be promoted to a management position with the marketing company he works for. One day, he overhears one of the marketers joking about how they don’t do half the stuff people are paying for and that the owner of the company told him not to so they could save time and make a bigger profit. Ed wants to say something but is afraid that if he does, he won’t get the promotion and may even lose his job.
Elle directly intimidated Sally to get her to stay silent. Ed’s boss never had to say a word. In both cases, though, the fear of man threatened to ensnare both Sally and Ed.
Proverbs 29:25 tells us not to fear people. We should trust God, instead, and do what we know to be right. God is mightier than man. God is able to provide and protect in ways we can’t even imagine.
The Slippery Slope
When we give in to fear, we may think that it’s not a big deal. So what if Elle gets away with stealing a little money. However, with each time we give in to fear, fear ensnares us more and more. Those little things (which really aren’t that little) can become really big things. We may find ourselves staying silent in the face of evil, doing evil, or even denouncing Jesus.
How many Germans either ignored what they knew the Nazis were doing or went along with it out of fear? How many Christians have renounced their faith when threatened with torture or death?
Self-Censorship
Today, in the United States, we are being confronted with more and more hostility for holding and teaching Biblical truth. It’s not hard to imagine the current cancel culture destroying people for holding orthodox Christian beliefs. In fact, it’s already happening. This can create fear and that fear and ensnare us into silencing ourselves. We don’t want to be canceled, so we better just not say anything or just go along with whatever is popular at the moment.
Again, Proverbs 29:25 tells us not to bow in fear. Yes, you may get canceled, but God will still take care of you. Ultimately, our mortal life is but the blink of an eye compared to the eternity we have in Christ. We may suffer now, but we will have all of eternity to rejoice in heaven.
Heavenly Father,
Keep me from the fear of man. When I feel threatened, strengthen me that I would stand in the face of fear and trust You.
Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
