If you say you belong to Christ, then there are things that should naturally follow from that confession.
Proverbs 8:13 (NKJV)
If you attended a boarding school, you probably remember what an Open Day felt like. Once the date was announced, the atmosphere in the hostel would change. Beds were suddenly arranged properly, lockers were tidied, clothes and shoes were put where they belonged, and students became more careful about things they would normally overlook. Even students who usually ignored the rules became unusually careful.
Why? Because visitors were coming, and the awareness that someone would soon be looking around affected how everyone conducted themselves. Nothing had changed yet except one thing: important people were coming, and the expectation of these visitors changed the students' conduct.
But what if the same consciousness that changes their conduct when someone is coming also governs the way you live when no one is watching?
Throughout this week, the fear of the Lord has been emphasized. Today, you will carry out an honest assessment of your life.
There is a difference between fear as terror of punishment and fear as reverence, awe and deep regard for God. For the believer, the fear of God is not living in constant terror that God will punish you. Rather, it is recognising that God’s word governs your life; whatever He says takes priority in your life.
To fear God is to live with a deep awareness of who He is and to allow that awareness to govern how you live. This is why the fear of the Lord cannot be limited to what happens in church. It is recognising that God is always present and allowing that awareness to shape your choices, even when there is no one else around. Your private life should not contradict your public life.
What is it that people will see you doing in church that is not already normal in your life? What is it about your life that makes it evident that you belong to Christ? Do you speak about God in church but your ordinary conversations rarely reflect Him? Do you worship sincerely in church but entertain privately what contradicts what you profess? Do you appear devoted when people are watching but live without restraint when they are not?
If you say you belong to Christ, then there are things that should naturally follow from that confession. If you belong to Christ, forgiveness should matter to you, integrity should matter to you, and the way you speak to people should matter to you. There should be evidence.
Proverbs 8:13
New King James Version
13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate.
Notice that the fear of the Lord is not presented merely as a feeling we have towards God. It produces a response to evil. The verse does not merely say that the fear of the Lord is knowing what is evil. It says, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil.” There is an active response.
If you truly fear God, there should be things you cannot comfortably entertain, participate in or justify simply because no one is watching. The fear of the Lord changes what you are comfortable with. The fear of the Lord keeps the conscience sensitive to what God calls evil. It also affects your ordinary decisions.
How do you speak to people? What do you watch when you are alone? What do you say about someone who is not present? What do you do when you know nobody will find out?
These may seem like ordinary questions, but they reveal whether the fear of the Lord truly governs you.
The fear of the Lord also changes the question you ask when making decisions. Instead of only asking, “What will people think?” you begin to ask, “What does God think?”
If your obedience depends entirely on being watched, then your standard is the people. But when the fear of the Lord governs you, you can still choose what is right when nobody will applaud you, correct you or even know what you chose. The fear of the Lord is not merely an emotion you experience toward God; it is a consciousness of God that governs how you live.
Malachi 3:16
New King James Version
16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, And the Lord listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the Lord And who meditate on His name.
This verse describes those who feared the LORD as people who spoke to one another about Him and thought on His name. What fills your conversations and occupies your thoughts matters a lot. The fear of the Lord should not only change what you do. It should affect what you love, what you speak about, what you entertain and what you allow to become normal.
If the fear of the Lord truly governs you, there should be evidence, not only in the moments when you are seen, but especially in the moments when you think no one is watching. Ultimately, the question is not simply, “Who is watching me?” The question is, “Who governs me?” If you truly fear the Lord, His Word and His standard alone will matter to you, even when no one else is watching.
Prayer
Lord, help me to truly live like one who has the fear of the Lord. Let it be evident that You govern my life, my actions, my decisions, my relationships, and every area of my conduct.
