The Fear of Man

For staff devotions this week, my colleague Marion Clark shared the following proverb, which is good counsel for every Christian, but especially for anyone in ministry: "The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe" (Prov. 29:25).  Ironically, it is our desire to feel safe that often tempts us to be people-pleasers, not saying what needs to be said, for fear of what others may think.  But in fact our fear of other people will trap us in the end.  Only trusting in the Lord and pleasing him is perfectly safe.