Solomon wrote, “The fear of man will prove to be a snare” (Proverbs 29:25a). There is a dangerous trap that has snared and destroyed many people, and that trap is the fear of man. This is not necessarily the kind of fear that causes a person to be physically afraid of someone. Sometimes it makes good sense to be physically afraid of someone and run away from evil. I believe that the type of fear that Solomon is making reference to is a fear of disapproval or a fear of being rejected. In modern terms we could call it political or social pressure.
Life is very rarely easy; we have to make some tough decisions in life, and sometimes these decisions have a very lasting effect on our lives. Making decisions on your own can sometimes be complicated, and when other people try to pressure or manipulate you one way or another it can be even harder. It is not always easy to say, “No! I am not going to go there or do that.” But that is exactly what needs to be done when you see that a person is trying to influence you into doing something that is dangerous, stupid, illegal or morally wrong. And I can guarantee that you will not always win friends when you refuse to be manipulated or intimidated.
Social pressure has a very strong influence upon our actions; people are often led to do things that they really do not want to do, and would not do, unless they are pressured by the crowd. And because of the fear of being disapproved by the crowd, many people do things that are harmful to themselves and to others. They have become trapped in these things because of the fear of man.
There are many people that seem to have the fear of man, but they do not have the fear of God in their hearts. These people break the laws of God right out in the open, thinking that they are getting away with it. But they are very careful to try and conceal their disobedience to the laws of man because they don‚t want to be arrested; they don’t want to spend time in jail. It seems that some people are more interested in escaping jail than they are in escaping the lake of fire.
King Saul fell into this social pressure trap when he did not obey the commands of the Lord. Samuel challenged Saul about this disobedience, and Saul said, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord’s command and your instructions. I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them” (1 Samuel 15:24). Because of his disobedience the Lord took the kingdom of Israel from Saul (1 Samuel 15:28). And because of the fear of disapproval of the crowd many people disobey the Lord and end up hurting their own reputation for years to come.
I admire David, the great king and prophet of Israel, for his bravery and exploits, and yet, when he was in the city of Gath, the king of Gath called David in before him. And David feared what the king of the Philistines might do to him, so as they brought him before the king he acted like he was crazy (1 Samuel 21:10-13). Here we see this great man David, the great warrior, king and marvelous palmist of Israel, acting like a madman because of the fear of man. The fear of man will cause great men to do shameful things. Many great men and women have been snared by the fear of man.
On the night that Jesus was arrested He told His disciples, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me.” Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you” (Matthew 26:31-34). And yet, Peter did deny Jesus three times, all because of his fear of man. And people are still denying Jesus because of social pressure from the crowd.
Pilate fell victim to the pressure of a crowd. As Jesus was brought before Pilate to be condemned, Pilate examined Jesus and by his own confession said, “I have examined this man and I find no fault in Him.” But the crowd screamed out, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar” (John 19:12). The crowd kept shouting, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” (John 19:15). Succumbing to the pressure of the crowd, Pilate handed Jesus over to the soldiers to be crucified. Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, yet he delivered Jesus to be crucified because of the fear of man.
There is a good side to social pressure or advice from others; sometimes we need a little pressure and a good kick to get us to do things that are good for ourselves and our family, and society. Every day of our life we can choose to listen to men and women who seek to guide us with good advice and good examples, or we can follow the advice and pressure from those who do evil. Solomon wrote, “The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful” (Proverbs 12:5).
The fear of man has led many people down a horrible path. Many people are intimidated by what others might say if they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Because of the fear of being taunted and ridiculed by friends or relatives, people actually reject God’s gift of salvation and eternal life with Him. The fear of man can lead us down dangerous roads and into some terrible situations, be careful of this trap.