PEOPLE FEAR
“Do not be afraid of people or I will make you look foolish in front of them.” – God’s words to the Prophet Jeremiah
Elegant question: Are you afraid of people?
If you said, “No,” you are unique. You are one of a kind!
The Great Moses was afraid of his people.
Joshua was encouraged repeatedly to be strong and courageous and to not be afraid of people.
King David had a fear problem. He had to lie to cover his fear of people’s opinions.
Peter, the Rock, lied three times before he conquered his fear of people problem.
Genesis tells us when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin entered the world. We all inherited four distinct character qualities that we now enter the world with.
Fear – Inferiority – Guilt – Anger
Biblical counseling and many forms of psychological therapy systems have these four foundations.
Once again the elegant question: Are you afraid of people?
Of course, we fear a terrorist, a violent dictator, and other forms of violence.
The fear of people I write of is the fear of people’s opinions.
The son who has failing grades at college and lies to his parents hoping never to be caught.
The high school girl who fears what others think of her appearance.
The boss who lets an employee intimidate them.
The aspiring athlete or actress who is crushed by a bad review.
In most cases where one learns not to fear people, some major events took place.
This is true of Biblical character after Biblical character.
This is true of modern-day heroes. Churchill, Kennedy, Helen Keller, Roosevelt, Reagan, Jackie Robinson, and others.
It is true in your life. You have people you know who have great character and do not fear people. They are rare gems we would be wise to emulate.
Unfortunately and fortunately it took cancer to teach me to no longer fear people’s opinions of me. It is wonderful to be set free. Now I can love God, love people freely, and live life to the maximum.
Do you fear people’s opinions? Do you want to continue fearing people’s opinion of you?
If not, the first step is to fear His opinion of you and no one else’s, for when you do this you will be free.
