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The Bible warns us about the fear of men. This fear results in us being enslaved to the opinions of others. We are warned about this fear in Proverbs:
The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. ~ Proverbs 29:25 ESV
Worrying too much about the opinions of others is very much a trap. It pulls us away from doing what God has called us to do. What’s more, it can be exhausting trying to satisfy others. And, if some of those you care about have different expectations from others you care about, what then? You can’t make everyone happy!
The whole “Keeping up with the Jones” thing is about fearing the opinions of others. We buy a new car we can’t afford when our current car is fine because we want to keep up appearances. Or we buy a house we can’t afford for the same reason. And the result is more fear, as we worry about making the payments.
Fear of others’ opinions gets us into all kinds of trouble if we choose to go along with the crowd. We join the guys for drinks after work, rather than going home to a wife desperate for time with us. Or a woman lets her girlfriends take her somewhere morally questionable so she won’t be seen as uptight. We do the same with entertainment, feeling we need to watch the same movies or read the same books as our friends or co-workers. Remember Fifty Shades?
Fear may cause us to not speak up when we hear something we know is wrong. Such as a group of women badmouthing their husbands. Or we might even join in when “the guys” make crass sexual comments about women.
The fear of man can show up at church too. It can be difficult when a wrong teaching or twisted understanding of scripture is advocated by a group we’re part of. Standing against the crowd is difficult if you fear how the crowd will react.
Ultimately the issue is this: Do we stand with the truth of God even if it puts us at odds with people? Will we follow God even if it costs us friends? Do we put our spouse ahead of our friends and what others think?
~ This is Paul, and following the group may not be Doing Marriage Well.
Due to cold and rain, Tilly is spending a lot of time inside, and is getting bored.
A bored Tilly is never a good thing!
Image Credit: © Paul H Byerly created with ideogram.ai & Paul Byerly
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