Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf
by Andy Perry

We’re all familiar with the above expression that’s been turned by many into plays, books and even art exhibits. Most likely its origin is traceable to the northern European fairytales of the Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. Part of the moral of those stories is that everyone should be afraid of the big, bad wolf. The historical/cultural context out of which those stories came makes sense: Life in the Black Forest in the eighteenth century was fraught with dangers – a chief one of which was real, live wolves. When one’s fear of the wolf motivated them to flee to safety, then fear was the way of wisdom. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about fear and its effect on our lives as humans. None of us are immune to its effects. All of us can think immediately of memories marked by fear running the length of the spectrum – everything from momentary ‘nerves’ to abject horror. As we’ve already seen with the example of the wolf, sometimes fear is our friend, but if we’re honest – especially biblically honest – we have to admit that more often it is our enemy. Given its prevalent and crippling role in our day to day lives, we might even call it Enemy Number One. But has that always been the case? Certainly not. Take a trip with me back to the Garden of Eden. In the beginning, fear was our friend. “But,” you protest, “The first time we meet that word in the Bible is in Genesis Three, detailing the tragic effects of the Fall.” And [Adam said], I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. (Gen. 3:10) True, but other texts reveal the beautiful reality and positively worshipful purpose of fear before the Fall. Later at Mt. Sinai as incentive for the Israelites not to sin Moses said, Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of Him may be before you, that you may not sin. (Ex. 20:20) Just prior to their entrance into the Promised Land God emphasized the positive effects of holy fear when He said, Oh, that they had such a mind as this always, to fear Me and to keep all My commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever! (Deut. 5:29) Not only that but in his wise instruction to his son, Solomon lays down the fear of the Lord as the cornerstone of all wisdom when he writes, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Pr. 9:10) And again, The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. (Pr. 14:27) These texts lead us to one preliminary conclusion, that rightly fearing God is not just good but wonderful, for it keeps us from sin and death and gains us life, wisdom and intimacy with Him. If God were the only possible Object of our fear, how different our lives would be. But simply because so many other players in our lives call out to be feared with an incessant cacophony, our fear too often goes to them and not to God, leading us not to a life of freedom, intimacy and power but enslaved performance and make-believe mask-wearing. Truth be told, most of us (even the most committed Christians) spend most of our days living not in the fear of God but rather in the fear of other people. “In fear of people?” you say. “Not me! Maybe snakes and public speaking, but I’m not afraid of people – not if they’re not pointing a gun at me, at least.” That is the belief of most people; yet consider the following scenarios.

- You step into an elevator to join three others traveling up five flights. All eyes nervously look at the ceiling or the floor or the door. Forty-five seconds later you part in anonymous silence. - Before heading off to church, you’re finishing off some pancakes at the breakfast table when a small drip of syrup misses your mouth and lands front and center on your shirt. You’re teaching Sunday School so there’s no time to change. Instead you proceed to church but then cross your arms, holding your Bible poised over the spot all morning. - It’s a sunny afternoon and you’re cruising down Broadway, singing away to a favorite song playing on the radio. For all you know the world is a million miles away. Then you look over and notice the driver in the car beside you watching you and smiling. Immediately you stop singing, turn beet red and fall back in traffic.

- A leader at church spots you on the other side of the fellowship hall and makes a bee-line your way. Your instinct is to duck into a classroom, for something tells you they’re coming to ask for a commitment of some kind. They corner you – you feel trapped as they share how much their latest ministry could really use your help next Saturday. Though you already have commitments for five out of the next seven days, you hear yourself saying as you’ve always said, “Sure, I’d love to help!” As you walk away you’re a mixture of guilt and resentment, but you don’t know why.

As different as each of these scenarios is, the same deep root lodged in our hearts causes them all: fear of other people. Proverbs 29:25 says, Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. This proverb explains why so many of us live life so poorly – indeed, live it controlled not by God and His truth but controlled by others and the real or perceived power we allow them to wield over us. In his excellent book entitled When People are Big and God is Small, Ed Welch points out that our fear of others flows from a deep-seated perception that they either have the power to give us something we want (like praise, attention, money, respect, etc.) or power to take away something we enjoy (through criticism, humiliation, rejection, ridicule or a direct attack). Think about it, why is public speaking the number one fear in America? Because more than anything else we fear being humiliated or criticized or not accepted by other people. We’re afraid they won’t give us the praise for which we long and will take away from us the respect for which we hunger and thirst. But in so doing what role are we allowing them to play in our lives? Control. In an effort to retain what we don’t want to lose and/or gain what we want so badly, we hand over the steering wheel of our lives to them – we idolize their opinions and attitudes. We bow down to them as gods. All the time we disregard the only One Whose opinion and attitude truly matters. Isn’t this what Adam did in the Garden when he suddenly desired to please Eve more than honor God’s prohibition? Isn’t that what King Saul did when he failed to devote all the spoils from war to the Lord at Samuel’s command? He says so much in I Samuel 15:24, I have sinned...because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Peter did the same thing when he denied Christ before the Crucifixion. Suddenly the probing questions of a servant girl became more important than the One he’d just hours earlier vowed to die for. And we are no different. Our greatest temptation in life, not least in the church, is to worship the attitudes, opinions and inclinations of other people – people we believe have the power either to do us much good or much harm. And whatever we worship soon owns us.