Fear in the Christian life:
“In general, I hate Christian rock music. But now I have heard the songs of Derek Webb. Webb’s songs are free of the pietistic sentimentality that usually characterizes popular Christian music. His music, like the Gospel, is at once hard, edgy, and beautiful.”
- Stanley Hauerwas
I had a great conversation the other day with a few friends about fear. Throughout the song, “A New Law,” Webb points out common cultural norms and inconsistencies that Christians often adhere to without question or scruples. An exceprt here would be useful:
“don’t teach me about politics and government
just tell me who to vote for
don’t teach me about truth and beauty
just label my music
don’t teach me how to live like a free man
just give me a new law
(pre-chorus)
i don’t wanna know if the answers aren’t easy
so just bring it down from the mountain to me
(chorus)
i want a new law
i want a new law
gimme that new law”
So we see that Webb points out just a few of the cultural ideas that Christians often adopt without thinking of alternatives. We becomes slaves to “a new law” that Jesus probably never intended for us.
One of my friends mentioned that fear is the antithesis of faith. Indeed, 1 John 4:18 reminds us that “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” And, of course, God loved the world enough to die for it. So, for the Christian, fear is an unnecessary emotion or state of being. To my friend’s statement I, then, posed the question of the place of the fear of God in the Christian theology. Proverbs 1:7 tells us that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Is the fear of God mere respect? Is it a fear that, if we do not do what is right and good, God will squash us? I think the fear we feel in this world is something entirely different from that. The fear that we feel is driven more by pride than by any moral idea of right and wrong or even by respect. For example, in politics, many Christians support leaders that claim to carry the banner of “Christian morailty” because of the fear that we don’t have the ability to pray and examine the issues ourselves. We need “moral leaders” because we are afraid to trust our communities of faith to be the normative witness for the truth in our lives. We are often afraid to take a stand on issues such as the morality of capital punishment because to be against capital punishment, for many in our society, is to be weak. And we are afraid of being weak, of not having enough power to sustain ourselves. This is rooted in the hubris of thinking that we could ever sustain ourselves. Certainly, we can plant crops, seek medical treatment, and procreate but, as people of faith, we believe that we are sustained by a higher power than ourselves. Fear, therefore, is counterintuitive to faith.
In Christ, are we not now free to live without fear of death and shame? We no longer need pride. We fear God because we know God’s love is so great. How can we not be in awe and fear of something so wonderful and powerful. Our outer life of deception and pride is being removed by God’s perfect love - our fear is being cast out by the truth. Fear of God is different from other fear because it leads us to wholeness and it is sought in humility. Maybe that’s what the fear of God is - ultimate humility reflected in our kindness.
I’ve quoted that Derek Webb song a hundred times if I’ve quoted it once. You’re right; we put our trust in idols because we fear God in the wrong way. Fearing him in the right way means we recognize that this life doesn’t make sense without him. It’s indecipherable without him as a kind of spiritual Rosetta Stone. (And it’s him we need, not some surrogate claiming a corner on the interpretive market.
I most often fear that he will upset my way of doing things. I doubt I’m alone. Capital punishment is an excellent example. The evangelical community has marched in lockstep for so long, never admitting that just because the government can put someone to death (as even Paul noted) does not mean that it should. More importantly, it doesn’t mean we should endorse that exercise of power.
When we act for justice, we have to take great care that we act not out of fear (’don’t want that animal breathing the same air’
but in humility before the God who can redeem anyone and anything.