(New American Bible Revised Edition, NABRE), Proverbs 9:10 – “The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
When I was Secular, I was confused or even repulsed by the idea that we should “fear” our creator. It seemed like a direct paradox to claims that God is “all powerful, all knowing, and all GOOD“. How can something be all good and yet we are called to fear it? In this post, I will go over exactly how I intellectually understand why we are all called to fear the Lord, and why it is actually a gift!
Overview:
I want to make something abundantly clear before we get started. “Predator” has all sorts of societal and biological connotations to it here on Earth. For example, the definition is as follows:
“An animal that naturally preys on others:
e.g. “wolves are major predators of rodents”
I want you to detach yourself from what you know about the word “predator” and go on this journey with me as I explain the word in this new Divine sense.
The same way that the Eucharist is described as “Bread”, we as Catholics know that it is nowhere near on the same level as the earthly definition/object such as the fluffy bricks you have in your pantry. No, it means something of a higher spiritual value than we have on Earth. In a similar denotation as Bread is to Eucharist, Predator is to God.
Ok, with that being said, let’s get started!
Survival, Malice and Evil:
There is no denying that part of our composition is biological and animalistic. We have natural hierarchy and power structures that have gotten more and more intangible as we become civilized.
But at the foundational level, think of a clan of hyenas or a flock of chickens. Most creatures on earth are at the whim of the most powerful being that threatens them. Rights and privileges are granted based on each animal’s evolutionary characteristics and whether or not it allows the creature to survive the natural world, or you guessed it … predators.
Even as more civilized animals, we still submit to the most powerful “predator” (starting to grow farther from the animalistic definition) in our environments. Think of the reign of terror that Genghis Khan brought to Mongolia and the world. Think of the vast empire of Julius Ceaser, and how the citizens of Rome had no choice but to submit to the rule of their emperor. Instead of being devoured, they were taxed, persecuted, and enslaved.
But these forces have malice, or the intention to do harm to another being, that’s why they are scary? They are evil right…?
But what about a tsunami?
Power:
Well, obviously, tsunamis are not malicious or evil.
It can also be said that anything that has the power to be the arbiter of our human mortality is terrifying to us, because religious or not, we value our earthly life immensely.
So, if it isn’t necessarily evil, and isn’t power alone that creates fear. These must not be the true sources of our fear, or the root cause. Evil, survival, and power are not quite the right words here; the more accurate description is …
Dominion
or
Soverignty
The True Dominion Hierarchy:
(New American Bible Revised Edition, NABRE), Genesis 1:26-28 – “Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.”
God gave us dominion over all creatures on this earth, but there is no mention that we have dominion over each other.
We must let go of the fact that the answer to this question can be found on Earth. That it can be perceived with our five senses or that can be fully intellectualized and solved with our rational minds.
When we step outside of our survival instincts and into the spiritual world. What or who has the most dominion and the most power over us?
The endless domain, and infinite power:
The Creator of all existence.
Does God have the power to destroy us? To exhibit the same qualities of an earthly predator?
(New American Bible Revised Edition, NABRE), Numbers 16:32 – “…and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their families and all of Korah’s people with all their possessions.”
Uh… Check!
Does God have dominion over us?
(New American Bible Revised Edition, NABRE), Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth”
Uh… Check!
If you believe that God exists, that He created all of existence, and that he has the power to destroy us, then you have no choice but to submit to the being with endless domain, and infinite power. The hyenas, the tsunamis, the dictators of our Earth have infinitely less power and domain over us as God does.
But why is it a gift to fear the lord?
In the Catechism it says:
2631 – The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord…
[These gifts] make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspiration…”
We are called to live out God’s will here on Earth. It is the most important and most impactful thing you can do with your existence. We are called to submit, to be docile, and to act as a pure conduit for His divine mission.
If this is true, I need to know that God is all good…
(New American Bible Revised Edition, NABRE), Psalm 145:9 – “The Lord is good to all,
compassionate toward all your works.”(New American Bible Revised Edition, NABRE), Romans 8:28 – “We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
This is a whole post in its own but to paraphrase for the point I am making, the answer is yes. All throughout scripture it is revealed to us that God is merciful God, a loving God, that He is the destroyer of evil, and that all of His creation is good.
(If you would like an in-depth explanation on why God is all good, post it in the comments below)
Conclusion:
To put everything we have discussed together. If we know and internally believe that we have the most powerful force in all of existence behind our actions, that we are called to act for the highest good, that we are therefore against all forms of evil, that we are meant to fear nothing on this Earth.
I ensure you, it will be the most empowering thing that you have ever believed in this world.
Through faith, we can conquer anything. And where Our Father has domain, so do we as his children.
What does my Girlfriend have to say about this ?
When I asked my girlfriend (who is also Catholic) the question of what do you think of when I say the fear of God?
She said:
Honestly, I think of the “Fear of God” clothing brand, which is funny because it does not hold the same meaning to me as the fiery billboards I used to see as a kid when we drove down the freeway. It’s way less scary!
Immediately I looked at her and thought:
I’m over here thinking of the highest spiritual apex predator and how hyena power structures work, and she’s thinking about billboards and clothing! Oh, to be a fly on the wall in an all-girls bible study!
Regardless of how funny this is, her statement holds just as much wisdom as mine. Our perceptions of fear change from generation to generation. With new challenges come new interpretations. I think it is important that we maintain both sides of this spectrum, the visceral fear of the infinite power that God has over us, and reverence for the incredible gift it is that our Creator is all good and to have comfort in knowing that this fear does not come from evil.
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Disclaimer:
The opinions of Called to Order and it’s author Ryan Fegan, are personal beliefs and should not be held to the same level of importance as official church or biblical doctrine and/or teachings.
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