Reverence Or Disdain For God
We are expected to revere the Lord (1 Pet 1:17, TCNT). This means we are to respect Him enough to obey His written and spoken Word. Such reverence is precious to Him (Isa 33:6, NCV; Isa 66:2, Message) and leads to wonderful results for us. These results include our happiness (Prov 28:14, CSB) and us enjoying intimacy with God (Ps 25:14, CJB). In addition, reverence for God leads to Him giving us revelation about His promises (Ps 25:14, GW). Consequently, it helps us to avoid sin (Ex 20:20, Moffatt) and to not feel superior to others (Eph 5:21, Barclay).
How do we develop reverence for Him? We can learn it (Ps 34:11, Lamsa) partially through better understanding and experiencing the forgiveness of our sins which He offers through Christ the Lord (Ps 130:4, NAB). Of course, we can ask Him to help us become more reverent (Ps 86:11, Berkeley). Being obedient to the Lord is an obvious way to show that we revere Him. There is also a hint given in Tit 2:3 which, though it be a command to widows, would also apply to every believer. Barclay’s translation of ‘reverence’ in this verse is to live in such a way that we are worshipping God in everything that we do. Thus, to live like that would be to develop a deeper reverence for Him.
Reverence for Him is about being genuinely dedicated to Him. Every part of our being is to be in tune with Him (Ps 86:11, Berkeley, note). To not live this way is, to some extent, to sneer at the Lord (Gal 6:7, AAT). Surely, He deserves better from us than our disdain.
We are to be good stewards of the children God may give us.