Last week we talked about the fear of man. Our assignment this week is to talk about fear of circumstances.

There is a remarkable amount of fear in the Bible. People are scared of situations and circumstances. Mothers are afraid for their children. Warriors are afraid of the enemy. Kings are fearful of traitors. Even Jesus’ disciples seemed to get scared regularly.

Likewise, there is a remarkable amount of fear today. We are afraid of all kinds of things. I know a couple people who are really afraid of bridges. Others are afraid of heights; some of storms. I’m dreadfully afraid of needles. Then there are the more general things that we’re afraid of like,

• being alone. We’re afraid that we won’t have friends, or especially that we won’t ever get married.
• being poor. We might not say it out loud, but a lot of us live in fear that we won’t have all the things that we want.
• being disliked. This is connected with the fear of man, but it may apply under fear of circumstances as well.
• being unhealthy or hurt, or having a loved one who is.
• death. A lot of people fall into this category, petrified of life’s end.

All of us fear (or have feared) something, or maybe many things. For some fear is a constant struggle, for others maybe they are fearful less of the time but when they are scared it wipes them out. Many people pay a lot of money to professional psychologists and counselors in hopes that their fear(s) can be treated. Many more spend a lot of money at the pharmacy to ease their fears, or they try to escape their fears with entertainment or intoxication.

But why do we as Christians fear? It makes more sense why an unbeliever would fear since from their perspective everything happens by chance and no one is in control. But why do believers fear?

Some Questions about Trust

If we are thinking about it (and sometimes that is the problem, we’re not thinking at all), I believe it comes down to one, or a combination of, three questions/concerns.

Does God know?

Maybe we know something He doesn’t. We’re scared because by the time God realizes what is going on, maybe it will be too late.

However, most of us know better than to think that God doesn’t know.

Is God able?

Maybe God knows, but maybe He is powerless to do anything about it, or perhaps He’s limited in what He can do. (For example, see here for a seminary prof who apparently doesn’t think God is able to control calamities.)

Again, most of us know better than to think that God doesn’t have the power to help.

Does God care?

This is where it really gets down to it for most of us. We know He knows, we know He has power, but we think He isn’t interested enough to take care of us.

But is that true? Moreover, is that biblical?

The Bible has a consistent message about fear: it is unnecessary. It might be our normal response, but it doesn’t have to be. And we’re going to spend most of our time learning right from Jesus Himself as He taught a crowd of people why they should not be anxious.

Some Truth about Trust

This is the clearest passage I can think of on trusting God and not being fearful or anxious. Four times in this paragraph Jesus commands His followers not to worry. This paragraph will also help us remember and meditate on biblical answers to the three questions above.

The PRINCIPLE of Trust v.25

25 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Though in verse 25 Jesus moves into a different part of His argument, there is still a close connection with the preceding paragraph. The Therefore is crucial. If God is our master we should have no worry, even about necessities. On the other hand, one reason some men are anxious and fearful is that they are serving the wrong master, and that master isn’t knowing, able, or caring. Fear grows out of greed and when our perspective is stuck on things under the sun.

But Jesus says, Do not be anxious. Stop being anxious. Stop worrying. The English word “worry” comes from an old English word (wyrgan) meaning to strangle or to choke; to seize by the throat and tear. Worry strangles contentment and thankfulness. And you are to stop being anxious about your life, the most basic and yet encompassing concern anyone could have. But Jesus teaches the principle that life is not defined by grub and garb. Life is much more than bread and threads.

Worry is the sin of distrusting the promises and providence of God, and it misplaces the primary issues of existence. Worry violates a theology which claims to recognize that God owns everything and God controls everything.

The ARGUMENT for Trust vv.26-30

26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Verse 26 refers to food. The many birds in Galilee provided an immediate object lesson. It’s not that birds do nothing to get their food, but they aren’t flitting around in fear! Yet, no bird was ever created in the image of God. No bird was saved by Jesus’ death. He has not prepared a place for birds in heaven. And if God takes care of them, won’t He take care of us?

Verse 27 refers to long life. Though we are an obsessed culture with trying to lengthen life, we have made no significant achievements beyond what God has set in place.

As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away. (Psalm 90:10)

Today, men die around 73, women around 80, between the two averaging 76. In a couple thousand years we’ve stretched our life span almost nil. Besides, worry doesn’t add time to life, it typically subtracts it!

Verses 28 through 30 refer to clothing. Jesus takes four times the space to confront our irrational fear of clothing, and He was speaking to a majority of people who probably only had one garment of clothing! We spend sooo much time and money on clothes. We lust after costly, stylish clothes which feed our pride. Our worries are seldom just not to be naked, making our fear even more fallacious.

God clothes the lilies and grass. Even the naked eye can see much of the amazing detail, shading and coloring of a flower. Under a microscope there is even more detail then the ancients could have ever imagined. Why are we worried? The grass is clothed and then burned. To hurry the baking process women would add dried grass to the fire to increase the heat level. If God takes care of such interim vegetation, won’t He much more take care of us?

The judgment God makes against men who worry is that they lack faith. They lack dependence on God.

The DISTINCTIVENESS of Trust vv.31-32

31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

the Gentiles are those who have no hope in God at all. They have nothing to live for except the present and the immediate satisfaction they can have in things now. And the Gentiles eagerly seek these things? All advertising is built on this truth!

Worry is inconsistent with faith and is therefore sinful. Worry is inconsistent with Christianity itself and it keeps us from being salt and light. Unbelievers are those preoccupied with fear.

But our heavenly Father knows that we have need of these things. Even in our Lord’s model prayer (Matthew 6:8) He reminds us that in our praying God already knows what we need. There is no need to fear. And what’s more we will have NO distinctiveness if we are worried. We will be just like the majority, even the religious majority if we mention God with our mouths but intend to worry as if we were able solve our own problems.

The PRIORITY of Trust v.33

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

After a series of rebukes, Jesus gives a positive command.

Seek His kingdom. Seek His rule, seek His authority, Seek His will (cf. Matthew 6:10). This is losing ourselves in obedience to the Lord. And we are also to seek…His righteousness. We ought to be so much more concerned with living holy and righteous lives than anything else.

We see again the very practical, applicable, instruction in dealing with fear. Think right and work hard. Inform your mind with truth and then invest your time. Don’t just sit there. You simply will have no time to worry if you seek righteousness first.

The CONCLUSION of Trust

34 Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

It seems that some people are so committed to worrying that if there is nothing to worry about today, they “borrow trouble” from tomorrow! But if God is the God of tomorrow–as well as of today and eternity–there is no reason to worry. We only need to depend on Him in our heart.

That each day has its own trouble is not a call to worry, but a call to concentrate on dealing appropriately with the providential struggles that God brings into our lives. There is no reason to worry about today or tomorrow.

Conclusion

Do you see how all of our questions are answered by Jesus? God does know. God is able. God does care.

Even more, this is one of the arguments of the gospel. Of course He knows and is able and cares. Consider the gospel; He knows our greatest trouble (sinful and punishment deserving), He is able to do something about our greatest trouble (sending His Son as a righteous, infinitely worthy sacrifice), demonstrating His great care (as His Son took our place). This argument from the greater to lesser was made by Paul in Romans 8:31-32.

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. We have no need to fear.

I remember Junior High, and I really remember being miserable. For that matter, my first couple years of High School really weren’t enjoyable either. But I came to find out that most of the blame for my misery was mine.

It’s not because I was a dork, though I wasn’t really cool either. It wasn’t because I was an idiot, but I wasn’t an excellent student either. It isn’t because I didn’t have any friends, even though my closest relationships were still superficial.

Yet I remember too many sad, silent, lonely hours spent in my room. I wasn’t into music, perhaps because cassette tapes were never my idea of convenient, so I didn’t turn on tunes for distraction and escape. But I was left to myself in the quiet to think about things like, why my mom and dad bought my basketball shoes at Payless when all my friends had Nike’s and Avia’s from the sports store. I dreamed about girls thinking I was cool and always wondered how many more push-ups I needed to do to get their attention and what hair cut was in style and what clothes would give me a better image.

I also remember trying to talk to my dad one time about how sad I was and feeling like no one really liked me. He either didn’t get what I was talking about or he didn’t care because he basically just told me I was wrong and that it was stupid for me to be sad and then he left. That didn’t really make it better.

I was too sensitive to what other people thought about me and I desperately wanted to please (at least some of) them. I thought if they thought I was great then we’d all be cool together and then I’d be happy.

Of course that isn’t what makes a person really happy anyway, but I was caught in the trap and didn’t know it. In fact, living life consumed with what other people think about you is a nasty trap, a deep hole, and an inevitable disappointment.

And you know what it is called when you live based on what other people think about you? It is called the fear of man and it is sin. Not only is the fear of man sinful, it is a snare.

The fear of man lays a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.
Proverbs 29:25

A snare is something that entraps and entangles. A snare is something–oftentimes deceptively attractive–that catches someone unaware and unprepared. The fear of man is a snare. It seems like the approval of other people would be so satisfying and fulfilling, but once you get caught, it’s tough to get out.

I suspect that many of you have been ensnared by the fear of man. Some of you have been in the trap for a long time. And I want to talk about the snare of the fear of man, to talk about the root of fear, the reflection (or expression) of fear, and the remedy for fear so that you might escape the snare or avoid it in the first place.

1. The Roots of the Fear of Man

What is the fear of man and where does it come from? In other words, what is the nature and source of the fear of man?

When we talk about the fear of man we’re not necessarily talking about fear like you might have when you’re all alone in a dark alley in a bad part of town. There are times when we are scared for our safety because of someone else, but that alarm or hesitation is different.

We’re also not talking about fear as in respect for law enforcement or government officials or anyone else in a position of authority. In those cases our fear or respect is healthy and appropriate.

The fear of man we’re talking about is “being governed or controlled by someone else’s opinions.” When we fear men we are anxious and uptight, wondering what they think and wanting to do whatever will get them to think highly of us, to accept us, to like us, even to praise us. The fear of man is seeking approval from others, from what we wear or how we look or what we own or what we do and say.

Commercials play on your fear of man. They stir up distress about what others will think if you don’t have X. Many magazines, stories and advertisements, attempt to teach you what you need to look like and be like in order to have other people’s approval. This is peer pressure. This is the fear of man.

Where does that fear of man come from? Is it natural? It is natural, for the flesh. And even though we could probably identify a great number of soils where fear of man flourishes, let me suggest three.

Pride

I think the most fundamental and universal reason people are so concerned with what other people think about them is pride. They think they are awesome and they want everyone else to agree. Even if a person questions their own “awesomeness,” if they can get other people to confirm it then, Score!

1 Samuel 15:1-6, 17-23, 24-31

The fear of man because of pride was a snare that took the kingdom away from Saul.

Some braggarts might be happy proclaiming their greatness into an empty pit, but most of the time they are announcing their accomplishments to win an approving audience. The shy person is no less proud and no less interested in approval, they’re just afraid they’ll mess up so they keep quiet. Instead of speaking up they sit back, but still their fear of men is rooted in pride.

Unbelief

A second root of the fear of man is unbelief. We simply do not know or do not trust what God says in His Word.

We don’t believe what God has revealed about reality, namely, that men are worms and that He is worthy. In light of eternity, He is the one who matters most and His opinion and approval that are most significant.

We also demonstrate unbelief in His promises when we fear men. Think of Peter’s denial and Timothy’s timidity. Their fear of men rooted in unbelief was a snare that kept them from being bold for Christ.

Idolatry

But the third root of the fear of man is the worst. When we fear men, what we really want is their approval and praise and worship. That means we are idolators. We’ve basically decided that we will do whatever it takes to be at the center of another person’s attention, and we’ll pout and punish them if they neglect us. That means we have made ourselves like God and inching our way onto His throne.

Maybe you think that is too extreme or even too harsh, but it is exactly what kept certain people from publicly confessing belief in Christ.

42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. (John 12)

These were even authorities who had a measure of belief, but they feared the Pharisees (the popular and powerful religious). They didn’t want to be put out of the synagogue (to lose their place at the table, to be removed from the place of influence and social). And the reason is given in verse 43: they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. They were idolators.

The fear of men rooted in a desire for praise was a snare that kept these authorities from having real freedom in Christ.

2. The Reflections of the Fear of Man

So pride, unbelief, and idolatry are where the fear of man comes from, but what does it look like out in the wild? How is fear in the heart reflected in our actions? Here are at least a few ways fear of man is expressed.

Depression and Self-Pity

A person who fears men typically has little or no joy. He is sad and self-absorbed. She is tearful because she wasn’t invited to that certain party. He pities himself that if he had more money or more athletic ability then he would get that position or recognition.

Sometimes the depressed and pitiful have parties alone, sometimes they send invitations to their party and whine and give the “woe is me” speech in hope that the listeners will tell them that they really aren’t that bad. They try to get others to scratch the itch of neglected pride. But people are depressed not because they think too little about themselves. They are depressed because they think other people think little about them.

Lying to Cover or Brag

Pleasing people is actually a lot of work, not only because we think other people have crazy high expectations, but because we know how pathetic and miserable we really are. So in the game of fearing men we find it useful to lie to give the right impression. We might lie to cover some weakness or mistake we made. We try to hide what is ugly.

But also we lie to make good things seem even better. Since we have so few positives anyway, we figure we’ve got to squeeze it for all the praise and approval we can. So we direct the conversation to tell our story and then we embellish it a bit to magnify why they should give us glory. We’re not lying because we think it’s fun, but because we think it will promote other people’s approval.

Envy and Covetousness

Most of the time when we are jealous of something a person has–whether that is a material thing or a position or an ability–it isn’t just that we want that thing itself. We wouldn’t be happy having that thing if we were on the moon all alone. No. We want the car or the job or the talent for the recognition and approval we think we would get from others.

Gossip and Slander

I suppose there are some people who are just so vile and evil that they love to cut down other people just because. But most people don’t gossip and slander to make other people look bad without also hoping what? That it will make them look good! Maybe the listeners will think we’re great because we have inside info or maybe because we didn’t do something so stupid (that other people have found out about yet). But gossip and slander is intended to help us get glory, to get someone else to worship us.

The fear of man is ugly. It is sinful and it’s a snare.

3. The Remedies for the Fear of Man

Just stop it. That was my dad’s counsel, though perhaps not as helpful as it could be with some additional instruction on how to stop it.

First, Cultivate Fear of God.

In other words, turn your focus to God and off of self and others. Develop and improve your relationship with Him. Learn about Him and why He is worth pleasing. Learn about what pleases Him more than about what is “in” this season. If one of the roots of the fear of man is idolatry, then cut it off by worshiping the true God.

Second, Meditate on Scripture.

Namely, let the Word of Christ about what is eternally real and relevant dwell in your heart. Long for the pure milk of the Word and drink its promises. If one of the roots of the fear of man is unbelief, feed and strengthen your faith with the Word of grace. This isn’t just repeating a mantra or harnessing the “power of positive thinking,” it is reminding yourself of what is real.

Third, Initiate Service

This part of the prescription is the one most neglected. I think many people work on the first two and still are stuck in the snare of being self-absorbed and fearful of others because they still spend too much time thinking about themselves.

When you don’t have anything better to do, you default to thinking about and serving self. That’s why you need to get up and get busy serving others. There may be nothing that more quickly frees one from the snare of the fear of man than to serve. And I mean truly serve, not because of what you’ll get back from them, but because you love them and have God’s approval. Serve as a people-lover, not a people-pleaser.

Conclusion

Being caught in the snare is not safe. But trusting God is. Remember,

The fear of man lays a snare,
but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.
Proverbs 29:25

The fear of man is sin. It is not safe. Even more, I think that if the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7), then we might say that the fear of man is the beginning of foolishness.