‭Proverbs 14:26-27 KJV‬ [26] In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: And his children shall have a place of refuge. [27] The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To depart from the snares of death. https://bible.com/bible/1/pro.14.26-27.KJV

When I say that “fear is not fear”, I mean that the fear of the Lord is being respectful of Who He is. It is not fear in the same sense that you fear a wolf or a bear. God demands our respect and our obedience when He gives us commands. He expects us to be obedient but for most of the history recorded in the Bible, there was more disobedience than obedience. Even in the past two millennia, since Jesus’ ascension to Heaven, the church has had many more problems resulting from pride and greed than we have experienced in following Jesus’ commands.

The church has fractured into many denominations during this time as well. This is not what was intended at the beginning. The church was supposed to be unified in service to those who need Jesus and that ball was dropped. We need to get back to being the Church of Jesus Christ, following His commands and not trying to be better than the church down the street. We are not in a competition but we are supposed to be fulfilling our duty to each other.