...for fear

I know this may sound strange, but according to Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”

We all desire wisdom and understanding, but how many of us actually find it? How can we when “it is hidden from the eye of every living thing, concealed even from the birds of the air?" Fortunately, “God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells.”
He was even willing to give us a place to start in Job chapter 28, which says “the fear of the Lord-that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”
Reading this, I couldn’t help but picture several people, all believers, reminding me that God is love and that He promises to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In short, there’s no reason for us to fear Him because we’ve been saved.
If only it were that simple.
Don't get me wrong, God does love us...more than we can possibly imagine. But whether we like to admit or not, God is also just. It’s not that He enjoys punishing us, but He must because He is holy and can’t settle for anything less in us. Ultimately, unbelievers will be condemned and believers will be held accountable for their actions.
Acts 5 “Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostle’s feet.” Peter knew, of course, and he called him on it, saying “You have not lied to men but to God. When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died,” and later on, so did his wife. After this “great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
Even though there are moments like this located throughout the Old Testament, many disregard them because “everything changed” when Jesus died on the cross. Granted, they did, but this event occurred in the New Testament to two members of the church. They made one mistake, and lost their lives because of it.
Obviously, God isn't in the habit of striking us dead, but when I heard this story I immediately thought of all the believers who have come under fire for some sin they’ve committed. You know the ones I’m talking about; in fact it’s become a frequent joke that priests are caught with either dead girls or live boys.
Every time I heard about a pastor taking money from the church or a conservative politician soliciting sex from a bathroom stall I cried out to God, asking why He would allow such a thing to happen. But I wasn’t thinking about the perpetrators or their victims, I was always thinking about my dad; I was thinking about unbelievers all over the world and how something like this would just turn them further away from God.
But this isn’t about my dad, or about unbelievers for that matter. It’s about us, the body of Christ.
A couple years ago I overheard a boy “ministering” to a friend of his, telling Him that being a Christian is great because it gives you the freedom to do whatever you want consequence free. You could murder someone and still go to heaven when you die.
God can’t allow us to go on thinking this way, believing our actions have no consequence. He has to discipline us in order to help us; and we need to hold onto that truth so that we’re less inclined to sin. Also, it helps us to be better witnesses to the lost, because it gives them a real example of what the glory of God looks like.
I know we can't be perfect, and I know God will love us regardless of what sins we commit. But if we're doing something that hurts or offends God He will make it known in time.
So “fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.” Proverbs 3:7-8

I know I too am guilty of taking advantage of the Lord’s kindness, and I pray He would give me this fear so that I may show wisdom in the choices that I make.