Proverbs in 31 DaysSample

Proverbs 29:25 states that the “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” Antithetical parallelism is a literary device that we have seen used frequently throughout the book of Proverbs. There are countless verses that contrast two opposing ideas with each other. We see this in verse 25, where Solomon contrasts the idea of fearing man with fearing the Lord. Solomon likens fearing man to being similar to a snare. A snare is a wire noose, usually attached to a stationary object, and used to capture animals. A snare is a dangerous trap. Things can get entangled in it, and it is known for being deeply deceptive. It stops something and steals its freedom. They should be avoided at all costs.

Likewise, fearing people is a dangerous trap. It is something that stops us and steals our freedom. Many of us fear people more than we fear God. It might be a sin that we don’t often think much of. This might look like compromising our values, peer pressure, people pleasing, saying yes when we should really say no, low self-esteem, jealousy, anxiety, and ultimately taking our eyes off the Lord and onto people. It looks like being a version of ourselves that someone else chooses. It doesn’t give us the freedom to fully be ourselves. It might also be the reason we don’t share our faith with others. Entire dominations have given in to the fear of man when it comes to some of the issues of our day. The fear of man is exhausting. It weighs down on us because it is a weight we weren't meant to carry. It is misplaced faith. This is something we need to lay before the feet of Jesus and surrender to Him. We should confess and trust that God is in control over what people think of us.

Our goal is ultimately the approval of God. Paul writes in Galatians 1:10, “For am I now trying to persuade people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” The trap of people pleasing and fearing man can be avoided by fearing the Lord and putting our complete trust in Him. One of the key ideas in the book of Proverbs is that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). If the fear of the Lord leads to wisdom, then the fear of man leads to foolishness. Fearing the Lord looks like being in awe and reverence of Him, and trusting that He is sovereign over all things. We must get the place where the approval of God drives our decision-making, not the approval of people. Scripture says that “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). We ultimately love people better when we're not seeking their approval.