God Commands Us to Fear and Obey Him for Our Own Good

Fear For Our Good

Does God command us to fear and obey him? Yes. But is it also for our own good? Yes.

And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. (Deuteronomy 6:24)

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?" (Deuteronomy 10:12)

God not only commands what he wills, but gives what he commands. He gives us a heart to be able to fear him. And again, for our own good.

I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. (Jeremiah 32:39)

And since the fearing was meant to last forever. We know that it still applies to us still -- even after the New Testament was written. It does not contradict with 1 John 4:18-19. This is not a fear out of punishment, but a fear out of love, respect, and reverence.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:18-19)

So why would God asking us to fear him be for our own good? Those who fear God, obey God (Nehemiah 5:15). So he commands us to fear him so that we would obey him. But why would obeying God be for our own good?

I can think of an illustration from my parents. They asked me to never consume illegal drugs, to never join a gang, and to always cross the street while looking both ways. I know that was for my own good. If my parents, though they are sinful, gave me commands for my own good, then it's easy to see that God also gave us commands for our own good.

Let us go over some of the more well known commands.

Theft

Don't steal. That makes sense. I don't want others to steal my toys, so why should I steal their toys? It is for my own good if no one steals my toys. So I shouldn't steal theirs.

Adultery

Why can't I be like Barney from "How I Met Your Mother" and sleep with anyone I want to? That would be nice. I like sex. It would probably be fun for me to experiment with lots of different women. Sex with one woman is good, so sex with more must be better, right? So why is that bad?

It's bad because Barney treats women like objects. I may have a daughter one day. I wouldn't want other people to treat her like an object. Today, I have a mother. I don't want others to treat my mother like an object. I also have a wife. I don't want anyone else touching her. So why should I touch other people's wives (or future wives)?

Also, would you rather have one thousand friends on Facebook, each who only knew you superficially. Or would you rather have one friend, who really knew you, deep to your core? This is a case where more is not better.

Homosexuality

If you want to enjoy your PlayStation 3, you need both a controller and a console. Plug the controller in the console. Play. Have fun. But, do not plug the controller in another controller, or attempt to plug the console in another console. It doesn't work that way. You have to follow the instructions. You may have fun playing with your PlayStation 3 your way, but that is not what Sony intended. Give Sony the benefit of the doubt, they know how to design consoles that maximize fun.

Love The Neighbor You Hate

Why should I love the neighbor that I hate? Because they are created in God's image. And, truth be told, if you were stuck in a bind, you would want your enemies to love you too. So love your enemies.

Love God With Your All

Why should I love God with all my heart, mind, and soul -- with every fiber of my being? Why is that for my own good?

I'll use an illustration of a Blackberry versus an iPhone. If you loved your friend, which one would you ask him to use? You would ask him to use an iPhone. Why? Because it's a better product. By using an iPhone, he would enjoy life more. By enjoying the iPhone, he would be, at the same time, praising the iPhone. Enjoying is the best form of praising.

But God is better than an iPhone. In fact, he's better than anything in this universe. We would derive the highest joy by praising him, and him alone. Seriously, my old iPod is collecting dust somewhere. God will never collect dust. He made everything in the universe -- including the dust.

Since God loves us, he must command that we praise that which is most worthy of praise -- namely, himself.