Articles
Recovering a Sense of Reverence
The basic question that everybody has to answer is whether there is anything “above us”. If not, then we are free to do as we please. But if there is a power that is superior to us, then that fact must be taken into account. Only a fool would ignore a power that is greater than himself. And if, as the Bible teaches, we have been created in the image of a personal God, then it would take an ever greater fool to ignore that reality.
Yet we live in an age of practical atheism. Many people profess to be religious in some sense, but the hard evidence suggest that most people rarely think about during an ordinary day. And what is worse, when they do take Him into account, many do so with a fearlessly casual attitude. In many religious circles these days, it would be considered high praise to say that God is “cool” or that He’s “awesome”. A comment made to me recently by an email correspondent typifies the modern religious view: “He’s really a great guy, God is.” Clearly, we need to recover a sense of reverence toward the God who created us. And it’s not just “they” who need to do so; it’s also “us”.
When it comes to reverence, our words are especially important. Granted, our words proceed from our hearts, and so there is a sense in which we need to work on our hearts first (Matt 12:33-37). But the reverse might also be true. The words we speak have an influence on our hearts, and so learning to speak more reverently about God can help us to think more reverently about Him. In the matter of reverence, our words can be both a “thermostat” and a “thermometer”.
It might not be a bad idea to say the word “God” less often and speak it with more reverence when we do say it. We speculate about God so freely and offer opinions about His word so nonchalantly, it is to be wondered whether we really know Whom we are talking about. Would we be such chatterboxes if we were brought before the terror of His throne, as Isaiah was (Isa 6:1-5)? Solomon gave good advice long ago when he said, “Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything before God. For Go d is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few” (Eccl 5:2).
Real reverence is more than a feeling. In talking to people about reverence, I have found that most folks think it is mainly a matter of feeling a different way about God. But while our emotions should be involved, that is not really the crux of the matter. Reverence means, first and foremost, obedience - complete deference to His will. It also means reticence, reserve, and respect in the way we think and speak about Him. It means praying to Him humbly and fervently. It means adoring Him in the kind of worship that can be described as “fearing His name” (Malachi 4:2). It means relating ourselves rightly to His glory, being willing, at whatever cost, to take whatever place is assigned to us in the great hierarchy of His creation. And it means something else, too: it means setting an example of reverence for others.
And so, my friend, I ask you: If you keep the same habits that you have right now, what will be the long-term impact of those habits on the people who have interacted with you? What will be your legacy? But the way you’ve thought, spoken, and acted in your own life, will those around you have been led to take God more seriously...or less?
Learning to be truly reverent is no insignificant matter or trivial detail; it is both important and urgent. Whatever else we may manage to do or accomplish in this world, if we have been guilty of trifling with God, it will go ill with us at the judgment. “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’”, Jesus said, “and do not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46).
