Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all. - Ecclesiastes 12:13
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. - I John 4:18
If you were brought up in Christianity like I was, you are doubtless very familiar with this concept! First of all; who is 'God' & why should we fear 'Him'? Secondly, if we fear 'God', can we truly say we love 'Him'? On the other hand, if we love 'God' can we truly say that we fear 'Him'? Given that 'fear', especially in reference to 'God', has a secondary meaning of 'to revere', we're faced with the same issues. If, according to The Preacher, we are to REVERE 'God' & keep 'His' commandments, there is still the blaring question to be answered; "If we fail to keep 'His' commandments; what then?" Is there reason to fear?! Same with Reverence; "if we do not render 'God' 'His' due reverence; what then?" If this is man ( kind )'s all, then if we do not fear ( revere? ) 'God' OR keep 'His' commandments; the Bible is pretty clear what happens!
Getting back to the first question, "Who is 'God' & why should we fear ( even 'revere'? ) 'Him'?' First, "Who IS 'God'?" According to what we read in the Bible, 'God' is the Creator, a Being of Pure Light Who is responsible for everything we see, whether directly or indirectly. I'll give you this; if indeed this 'God' did create everything we see, again, whether directly or indirectly, that would definitely be a good reason to revere 'Him'! However, what real, actual proof do we have that 'He' IS the Creator, other than "the Bible tells me so"? Faith tells us that 'God' is the Creator & Faith tells us as well that the Bible is true!
So, why should we fear 'God'? Is there a valid reason for fearing 'God'? Again, the Bible itself is rife with examples of why we should fear God: if one fails to keep 'His' commandments, as he or she should, then according to the majority of Christians, that one may suffer eternal torment in the Lake of Fire! But, then again, "why SHOULD we take the Bible's word for it?" Actually, this bit of fear-based propaganda is itself founded on a misinterpretation of the Hebrew & Greek texts. The "Lake of Fire" was an event that was visited on the Jewish, or Hebrew people in the first century. Enough about that though; the point is that "yes", the 'God' of the Hebrews was most definitely One to be feared if you failed in any of 'His' commandments!
Reading the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as the book of Revelation, which is itself based largely on the Hebrew Scriptures, it is fairly evident why the Hebrews had such a fear of their god. However, if it was just in the Hebrew Scriptures that we found evidence of the fearfulness of the Hebrew god, the argument elucidated earlier could almost be employed here, but throughout history ( if you can trust even that ), there is much evidence of how the fear of this god of the Hebrews disrupted & in many cases, brought war & genocide to many otherwise thriving cultures. This is not to say that this god of the Hebrews CAUSED all of this disruption & mayhem, though we DO have 'evidence' from the Hebrew Scriptures themselves - Isaiah 45:7, for example ( I may be accused of 'cherry-picking' here, but this a good example of who the god of the Hebrews was really like; there ARE others ) - of the pettiness of this god of the Hebrews!
Turning to the Greek Scriptures, usually called The New Testament, we are introduced to an almost entirely different 'god', in the form of Jesus, who was the Christ. Although Jesus made the claim that he was the son of the Hebrew god, the notion that Jesus somehow tamed his father down almost seems to gain a foothold! Jesus was more inclusive than exclusive, though he DID say once that, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" ( Matthew 15:24 ). Rather than condemning those who failed to keep god's commandments, Jesus treated them with love & kindness, though admittedly, he DID tell them to "go [a]and sin no more" ( John 8:11 ). On the other hand, Jesus was known for his condemnation of the religious leaders of his day, those who strove to keep alive the Fear of 'God' in the Hebrew peoples!
Fear is definitely a great motivator, but more potent by far - to Infinity, really - is Love! Jesus came to show us this; that loving, not fearing each other & yes, 'God' was The Way to Life. Fear only leads to Death, a saddening fact which History has made abundantly clear. History shows us, for one, that religious fervor ( Fear ) has been behind the overwhelming majority of wars that this world has borne witness to. For another thing, whether it's a fear of those who are different or a fear of the unknown, Fear has been the cause of most, if not all of the unrest & dis-ease in the world. Love, on the other hand, comes naturally to us!
In this day & age, rife with Fear & Hatred, one might be laughed at for making such a statement & indeed, it IS very optimistic! However, given the centuries of programming that humanity has labored through, one would be very hard pressed to even come near to the Truth of such a statement. No, to a psychopath, Love would probably not come naturally, although it could be argued that even a psychopath has feelings & when it comes down to it, would likely, especially when it comes to family, act more out of Love than Fear. Like I say, though, "It could be argued"; whether it could be successfully be argued might be another matter entirely!
Love; DOES it come naturally & if so, "how could that be?!" Well, risking sounding like a broken record, "it is because we ARE Love!" I know, I know, "Easy to say, hard to prove!" Yes, "as above, so below"; in this day & age it seems to be a preposterous proposition, at the very least, but if 'God' who is Pure Energy, is Love, then we too, in our Inmost Being, are Love as well, for we too, at our very Foundation, are Pure Energy! So, we've come to the most important question; "Who IS 'God'?!"
For lack of a better term ( "if that even covers it!" ), one might call his or her Higher Power 'God', 'the Universe', or simply, 'Energy'. 'Love' even works! Some people, such as atheists, refuse to believe in ANY sort of Higher Power, such as the Christian 'God', who in essence is the Hebrew god. I acknowledge that the existence of this, or any 'God' at all, is difficult, if not impossible to prove. Here is where Faith comes into play. It takes some amount of Faith to believe that there actually IS such a Higher Power; it simply is beyond any real, or actual proof, no matter what some people say, for instance, those who claim to have spent time, to whatever extent, in some Afterlife 'Heaven' or some such. This is not to say that just because such a Being ( or Beings? ) cannot be proven 'beyond all shadow of a doubt', such a Being ( or Beings? ) does not or cannot exist, just that it DOES give one pause when considering their own Higher Power.
One's 'Higher Power' need not necessarily be 'God', 'the Universe', 'Energy' or even one of the traditional pantheon of Gods or Goddesses. One's own Higher Self will serve just as well ( or better ). Communion with one's Higher Self helps us to KNOW, rather than just believe, what is right & what is wrong ( one might well refer back to the biblical story of Adam & Eve here, and the apparent pettiness of the Hebrew 'God', Elohim ). If only we would learn to trust our Higher Self, Life would be so much simpler. Trusting our Higher Self may, according to some, require as much Faith as believing in a Higher Power, but at least we have proof that WE exist! That we each have this so-called 'Higher Self' may require a bit of a leap of faith, although the Lower Self is explained well by those who think with the wrong head, i.e., with their lower, or animal nature.
"As Above, so below"; Love is the Way to Life; Fear only brings Death! Love of one's neighbor, for instance, which is admittedly just one of the Universal Truths of the Hebrew & Greek Scriptures, is simply common sense; if one loves his or her neighbor & treats them accordingly, most likely their neighbor will return the kindness ( not always, but most often ). Most importantly though & I cannot stress this enough; LOVE YOURSELF! This is truly man ( kind )'s all; as a friend of mine, who has since passed to the other side, said once; "Love God & do what you want!"
Namaste' & Blessed Be!
Sage Charles
