May 23, 2025 The Problem with Fearing People – Words of Grace Blog – May 23, 2025
Every day we take care to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the harm evil people can do to us. We lock the doors and avoid going to certain places at certain times of the day to remain safe. These precautions can be considered a type of fear, but most would agree this is wise fear. This fear is rooted in the wisdom that discerns what actions can prevent harm.
Then there is another kind of fear. This fear doesn’t prevent harm, it causes it. This is the fear that Proverbs 29:25 refers to when it says, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”
The fear of man in the Bible is the kind of fear that cares too much about gaining the approval of people. It is concerned with remaining in the favor of others and so their opinion of us becomes the controlling factor in our lives. We fear people this way because we fear the loss of their acceptance. In a sense, we are placing our trust in them.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with trying to get along with people. There is no virtue in being insensitive, aloof, or rude to others just to prove that we do not fear them. We can show love and respect for people without fearing them.
But the fear of people is not love. It is misplaced trust.
The problem with fear of people is that it causes us to trust them and prevents us from trusting in the Lord. The proverb contrasts fear of man with trust in the Lord because they are mutually exclusive. We can only trust one master.
When we fear people we will shift our loyalties, compromise truth, mistreat others, and lose our souls all to keep ourselves in the good favor of those we trust for security in this world. This is a snare. Only in the Lord is there true safety and security that lasts forever.
It is important to see that the proverb does not say that rather than fear man we are to trust in ourselves. The point is that we do not fight the fear of man with the pride that seeks to dominate others and cause them to fear us.
The godly antidote to the fear of people is to trust in the Lord. The Lord is to be bigger in our minds than people, and even than ourselves. The Lord is to control our minds, emotions, and actions by his Spirit and word. The Lord only is God, and he is our salvation.
The fear of people is everyone’s problem. If it were not, why would a proverb about it be given to us in the Bible? The question is will we be discerning enough to spot our temptation to fear others more than to trust the Lord, and honest enough to admit when we do? To do so is wisdom.
I look forward to trusting in the Lord with you Sunday.
-Scott