Respect must be a bad thing. I say that because we seem to have eliminated it from our society. We don’t respect anything anymore be it our parents, pastors, teachers, government, the elderly, others property, people’s feelings, God. But is respect really a bad thing? It can be a good thing, a healthy thing. For example, handling anything with high voltage. It’s amazing how much respect we show for electricity. To work with electricity you must learn about it, get qualified, have the right tools and follow certain procedures. Electricity commands respect because of its nature; no one complains. Electricity naturally deserves more respect because of what it is. What about God? Does He deserve more respect for who He is?
The fear of God is not a popular topic. It doesn’t really fit with our motivational-type Christianity. Fear is a negative and negatives have no place in our positive gospel of love. We talk and sing more about Jesus as our old buddy, pal than we do about Him as the almighty God. We have ‘no fear’ because we have lost respect for who He is. I remember being in a church where they were ranting and raving about ‘fire in the house’. If the fire of God really was present we would all be on our faces begging for mercy, not staging a ‘revival’. I heard a TV evangelist appeal to his viewers about ‘How to make the Kingdom of God work for you’. I wasn’t aware God was our employee! (I hope He’s putting in good hours). I saw this sign out the front of a church in the USA, ‘Come and see God’s power on display, 6 PM’. God is a travelling magic show now, performing tricks at our demand.
Those were probably well meaning people involved in those examples, but look what’s happened. We have befriended God to the point He is no longer God but some kind of genie that appears at ‘6 PM’ with ‘fire’ ready to go to ‘work for you’. The realisation of who God is replaces that sort of familiarity with respect and awe. This whole area of respect is something God doesn’t forever stay silent about. If we continue to ‘humanise’ His character, tell Him what to do, treat Him like an old buddy pal, He may step in and do something about it. The Bible has some sobering examples regarding this very thing.
2 Samuel 6:1-9: David was moving the Ark to Jerusalem. The Ark was not just a gold box with poles through the side. Verse 2 says ‘it was the very name of the Lord of Hosts’; this was the physical representation of God Himself. They were wheeling it through the countryside making a big song and dance, when one of the oxen unbalanced this precious cargo. The Ark was about to fall to the ground so our good man Uzzah came to its rescue. Verse 7, ‘… And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence and he died there by the Ark of God’ (emphasis mine). David became upset with God because of what He did to his friend Uzzah. The whole trip to Jerusalem was halted. David left the scene that day with this question, ‘How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?’
The death of Uzzah was a personal rebuke against David. I can just imagine David saying to himself, ‘What is God’s problem here? God is my friend and so was Uzzah. What have I missed here? I’m not moving the Ark another inch until I find out, or who knows who will die next’. God was David’s friend but He was still almighty God. The death of Uzzah was the result of a heap of people who took ‘the friend thing’ too far and lost fear and respect. David did some soul searching after that experience. He rediscovered all the do’s and don’ts regarding the Ark. He found out the rules were in place to help them see God and respect Him for who He is, the great I AM and sovereign Lord of everything.
We know David worked out what was missing because of what he did when he returned to continue the Ark on its journey to Jerusalem. Unlike last time when they threw the Ark on the back of a wooden cart with some beasts pulling it with everyone jumping around and shouting Hallelujahs. David had learnt respect for an awesome powerful God, now he had the ‘bearers of the Ark’ to carry it and every six paces he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. What a change! ‘How can the Ark of the Lord come to me?’… with fear and respect. A lot of people judge God as being unreasonable for ‘zapping’ Uzzah. I don’t see it that way. God couldn’t help but zap him. Think of the Ark as a billion volt transformer buzzing with the presence of God. God had procedures to be followed in handling His presence safely, just like we have with electricity. We don’t get mad at electricity for being what it is so why get mad at God for being who He is. It seems we respect electrical power more than the God who made it!
Some are probably thinking, ‘But still, that was Old Testament times. God is not like that anymore’. Don’t be so sure - go to Acts 5:1-11. This is the story of Ananias and Sapphira. These people sold a block of land and told the church they were donating all of it to God’s work. But they kept back some for themselves and for this God struck them both dead. Why were they treated so harshly? What was the sin that caused their death? Was it the obvious one, lying? But we’ve all lied. There wouldn’t be a single person alive if that were the case. Or was it trying to look good, winning respect in the church. After all, it must have still been quite an offering even if they did keep a little back. Or was it again the issue of fear and respect and whom they lied to?
After the death of Ananias and Sapphira verse 11 says, ‘Great fear came upon the whole church’. The people started to respect God for Who He was and the results were immediate and astounding. There were ‘many signs and wonders’, they were in ‘one accord… multitudes of men and women were constantly added to their number, to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets… at least his shadow fall on any one of them… the people from the cities in the vicinity… were coming together… bringing the afflicted with unclean spirits; and they were all being healed…’ (verses 12-16) We need the fear of God back in our churches, in the songs we sing, in the lives we live.
Jesus is our friend, our best friend, but the order must be right. He was first the sovereign ruler and God of the universe before He was our friend and saviour. When we see Him first as the almighty God it makes friendship with Him so much more meaningful. Seeing things from this perspective produces awe and respect. Let’s not test God on this issue. People have died for getting the order wrong. God will get respect. And He deserves it because of who He is.