The fear of the Lord in invitation
When does wisdom turn into anxiety on tackling a difficult situation? Very often I hear church leaders talk about dealing with a delicate situation, one with great sensitivity. I have proposed that fear of man is the boundary edge of the kingdom of God and that God calls us through our fear. It is often the case that church leaders do have to deal with sensitivity. But listen to the words of Jesus “Get thee behind me Satan”, “You brood of vipers”. He even turned over the tables in the temple. These words and that action do not measure up to delicately handling a situation, yet on other occasions. Jesus invited himself to the home of a hated tax collector and was accused of spending time partying in the company of sinners. There is clearly a time for sensitivity and a time for dealing with our fear of confronting that which is hindering the kingdom of God. The fear of the Lord gives us access to guidance in dealing with difficult situation. So we can invite people to grow both sensitively and by fearing the LORD more than we fear man.
