Fear of the Lord

By: Nathan Sharum

Many young students may be mistaken about what “fear of the Lord” truly means. It

does not mean that we should run away from the Lord and be scared of Him. When

we are Confirmed, the Bishop says, “Be sealed with the Holy Spirit,” and one of those

gifts used to be called, “fear of the Lord.” Now, if the fear of the Lord doesn’t mean to

be scared of God, then what does it actually mean?

Fear of the Lord means Wisdom, which is one of the many gifts of the Holy

Spirit. In Proverbs 9:10, it says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and

knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Now, wisdom is a biblical perspective

and not straight out of the definition of wisdom in a dictionary. Wisdom helps us live

in the eyes of God. So, if we circle back, that means that fear of the Lord helps us live

in the eyes of God.

Pope Francis delivered a speech on fear of the Lord to the whole world on June

11, 2015. He said, “Fear of the Lord allows us to be aware that everything comes from

grace and that our true strength lies solely in following the Lord Jesus and in allowing

the Father to bestow upon us his goodness and his mercy.” He also said that fear of the

Lord is an alarm that helps us avoid sin. Also, when we do not live with fear of the

Lord, we may strive for money, giving all we have toward money, and no matter how

much money we have, we will not be truly happy. Pope Francis’ words were

powerful.

If a person knows and respects God as the one and only God, then they can

trust His will. His plan for all of us is greater than we could imagine because despite

all of the stress in our lives, our goal is to get to heaven. Not only does fear of the

Lord save us from sin, but it helps us respect God’s creations out of reverence. God is

truly amazing, helping us every step to grow closer to him in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Now that we know what fear of the Lord really means, think about what it

means to you. We all know that we should aim for heaven to see God one day in His

kingdom. The wisdom that helps us avoid sin and grow closer to God can be so

powerful and astonishing. Pope Francis did many amazing things and the fact that he

spoke about fear of the Lord means that it is important to our daily lives. Fear of the

Lord does not mean to be scared and run away. It prevents us from sinning and helps

us grow closer to God.

Sources:

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The Catholic Michigander