Psalm 128:1
Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways!
Are you afraid of God? Are you fearful? How can you be blessed if you fear something or someone? Today's Psalm reading proclaims that we are blessed if we fear the Lord and walk in his ways. I've always thought God was loving and didn't really fear him, although knew that I didn't want to upset him or get him angry with me, as the punishment might be harsh. Somehow he'd get payback through some incident or malady that might strike me. At least that's what I used to think and some people might think the same. A fisherman at sea might not have a direct fear of the sea, but respects it, in fact loves it. But the seas can turn, become angry and the fisherman becomes fearful.
My daughter loves me and just the other day told me so. She said that she always wanted to be obedient because she was fearful of what might happen if she disobeyed or got caught in something. She loved out love, but some out of a sense of fear or respect. I also have a son. He likes to test me. He is loving but also tempts fate. I warn him, but he's stubborn and does his own thing. The kids are 20 and 18 years old. They know better…they know right from wrong. Mankind is the same universally.
I sometimes think God looks down from heaven at all of us. God made a covenant, an unbreakable deal with Abraham (from the first reading today) that he'd always be with us and we are to follow his commandments. But look at us. All of us sin and most of us don't give it a second thought. Are we fearful of what might happen? What are the consequences? The wages of sin is death. If we sin, we will die. But we don't care because we find ways to escape the consequences. We make excuses to justify our actions. I'm as guilty as they come. Therefore, I propose that we take time today to reflect on our actions and the consequences of them, so that we might become more respectful of others and of God. You can even substitute the word "respect" for "fear". God deserves our respect and our love.
