Wealth, Wellbeing & Wisdom Root From Fear of God

Reverence

Someone once said “RESPECT was invented to cover the empty place where LOVE should be”.

People lack a deep and intense feeling of affection for one another so they seek admiration for individuals they can pedestalize above others or themselves by means of their abilities, qualities or achievements. Once they find these individuals they admire them, note it’s “admire” as the defining word; not affection, not feelings of affection.

People are flawed and unworthy of respect, it’s an obvious inauthentic social concept. We don’t hold respect (admiration as if it’s an unbreakable state of being) for anything; ourselves, our parents, people, animals, life or even the dead. We certainly don’t hold respect for our friends and coworkers, employees or strangers. How do I know? If any of those entities were to do something that greatly ruined your daily experience here on earth, something that obviously and directly made it so that your life sucked, on purpose — you wouldn’t respect them. You would resent them.

But The Lord can put Job through anything and Job, His creation, still loved Him!

“Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: The Lord gave, and The Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of The Lord.” Job 1:21 (after losing his children and wealth)

See, you cannot “respect” someone who allows you to lose everything. Only love can prevail through that level of self loss.

When you “respect” someone it’s not about them, it’s about you. You “respect” people to pedestalize their logical and emotional traits. It’s a cope, a selfish social safety mechanic. A synthetic social game of ‘make believe’ that leads to tyranny or abuse at worst, manipulation or stunted social development at best.

You are not God. And you don’t get to decide who is worthy of being viewed highly and who isn’t.

You are a servant of The Most High as a Christian. You deserve to LOVE and to LET BE in regard to how people are perceived. Judge the actions, hate the sin. But the person is flawed and is not capable of being revered. Reverence is the true word, respect is the twisted illusion. Reverence is your natural human inclination when you deeply want to “respect” something and only a husband and/or a creator, your Almighty Creator, can receive reverence from a human.

The English word “respect” DOES appear in The Old Testament, but it’s not rooted in a single, rich Hebrew concept. Instead, it’s a loose translation used for a handful of different verbs, like sha‘ah (to look at), yada‘ (to acknowledge), panah (to turn toward), and nasa panim (to show partiality). It’s more about attention or favor than deep spiritual reverence.

“For I will have respect (panah; pay attention) unto you, and make you fruitful” Leviticus 26:9

While the root words behind “reverence”, like yare‘ in Hebrew and phobos in Greek, are way deeper. They don’t just mean noticing or looking; they mean awe, respect, and holy fear. Yare’ shows up as the fear of The Lord, the kind of awe that leads to wisdom and obedience. Phobos carries that same weight in the New Testament, mixing the idea of respect with awe, especially toward The Lord or a woman’s husband.

“The fear (yare; fear, awe, reverence) of The Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7

“and the wife see that she reverence (phobos; fear, awe, reverence) her husband” Ephesians 5:33

The Greek pantheon consists of many gods who are echoed in New Testament language, the god Phobos (fear, awe, reverence) is said to be the son of Ares and Aphrodite (war and love). Phobos follows alongside his father into war causing disarray and focus. Imagine the stone-still yet vibrating reactions caused by the icy to searing threat of present mortality on active battlefields, the fear induced by the love for your very own and love for the lives of others.

That’s what you should feel towards The Lord and your husband as a married woman. That’s something reserved for something intrinsic, “respect” is a social dance to fill the void of this reverence instinct.

Reverence is love. Fear of God is love.

Respect is a lie. Worldly abilities, qualities & achievements are all fleeting vapors.

Love stays. Yare and phobos stay. Love is truth.

Wealth, Wellbeing & Wisdom

Proverbs carries the teachings of the world’s wisest man, King Solomon. He did not begin his rule by pursuing silver or acclaim; he sought reverence. That sacred awe (yare‘) became the foundation of all that was built under his rule. 16 different verses in Proverbs give insight and testimony on fearing The Lord. “The fear of The Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death” (Proverbs 14:27).

Wisdom, in Solomon’s eyes, was much more than profound sayings. It was the skill to navigate life according to divine design. He asked The Lord for an understanding heart to judge his people, and received insight beyond measure. That wisdom guided every decision, shaping counsel, governance and even the iterations he put into Scripture.

Wellbeing followed. Solomon knew that true peace does not arise from ease or indulgence, but from drifting within the river that is The Lord’s perfect Will. Rest of mind, freedom from anxious striving, confidence that life’s rhythms flow under God’s care — this was the calm that accompanied his discernment.

Wealth came last, as The Lord had promised. In 1 Kings 3:13, “I have also given thee that which THOU HAST NOT ASKED, both riches, and honour.” Six hundred sixty-six talents of gold each year stood as testimony to wealth, not as its definition. True wealth is measured by sufficiency of provision, the ability to serve others, and the honor that follows faithfulness.

This divine sequence holds throughout Scripture: fear of The Lord establishes wisdom; wisdom secures wellbeing; wellbeing ushers in wealth. Should you invert the order — pursuing comfort before reverence, provisions before insight — you court vanity and emptiness. But when reverence shapes every step, The Lord’s love unfolds: wisdom for life, peace of heart, and wealth in grace.

People Fear What They Put Faith Into

Demons, loss of money, an angry spouse, foreign governments, your own government, death by means of health complications.

A scary black, dark corner of the room when you’re trying to go to sleep as a naive toddler.

You have feared what you’ve put faith into.

You do not know what is on the other end of the black void, but you have faith it may hurt you.

You fear it because you have faith.

Look at all the first things we have listed in this chapter, what have you feared because there was an internal level of faith that an impending doom existed from that entity and you BELIEVED the threat to be so?

What is so?

What is?

The Lord has dominion over all. Your heart generates electrical impulses because your creator commands it to fire.

It is evil to worship the stars because they are not The Lord, as it is righteous to know the stars are for signs and wonder and are in the dominion of The Lord.

Don’t understand The Lord, have faith in Him. Fear Him.

Understand everything else by His dominion given to you, you are given authority to understand all life of earth as a Christian man.

You are to be what the world fears, you are not to fear the world and her infantry.

Instill Fear of God in Your Friends and Family — Or It’s Purposeless

What is a river without length?

What are earth’s trees, plants, animals and people to benefit without the rivers great lengths? Your bloodline and kinships are no different. From you and them birth the ability to flow life and create dominion, but its continuity dries up or runs into purposeless ends without fear of The Lord. Shared reverence for The Lord is the root of all life’s sustainabilities.

To fear God is to fear the God in others.

“Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” Genesis 9:6 (direction given to Noah post flood)

The light that purely exists in other Christians, your spouse, your brothers in Christ. It should spook you, it should give you awe, it should leave you in a state of hesitation when beginning to unjustly trespass upon it. You should pierce into someone’s pupils who loves Christ and see Jesus Christ wholly, you should see them as your own Body. You should fear them for their life, not because of what they can do for or to your life. You should preach shared reverence and replenish its vitalities in the hearts of brothers, the hearts of your spouses and children. We will grow wealthy, wise and established in our reverence for our Almighty Creator and His Son, Jesus Christ.

The “here and now” goes nowhere for “you and yours” without submission to The Almighty Ultimate Authority.

Even if you live a “just life” you cannot inherit anything without reverence for “the life” being lived justly, you will be put into focus on a judgment day, The Day Of The Lord, and you will be seen as a contributor to life or a deterrent. Water finds its level, it comes together when it comes together, always. With momentum water rushes and with vigor it kills. Become like the water or become again like the dust, find your people and behave like the water, as Body, with shared purpose in your Creator. Fear The Lord together, forever and always.