God is one of the vital forces in most people’s lives.
Though there is bias in views and thoughts about God, God is still indispensable in human life.
The thought of a God is planted in their minds since childhood by their parents or the society around them.
Rarely do some of them become spontaneously involved in the belief in god.
We can have two different types of devotees among those who believe in God.
One group can be called god loving, while the other is god-fearing.
Though the two terms seem similar, they have distinct differences in how they perceive spirituality and the extent to which they are bound to God.
Below we will see how two different sets of people view God and things related to a god.
God-loving people
- These people love God, and they worship him out of pure love.
- These people are so from birth or attain that state after some real life-changing experiences.
- Once they become god-loving, they never go from the path entirely.
- Though they involve in worldly life, they still have the essence of God within.
- For them, god is inbound and helps them whenever they want and for whatever they ask.
- They pray to god spontaneously, i.e., without any set schedule or routines.
- They do not like to argue about God.
- They see god in almost all the people and living beings around.
- They do not discriminate between animals and humans, rich and poor; they treat everyone alike.
- They even do not show sympathy for the handicapped but be friendly instead.
- For them, everyone is the same, equal, and everything is in the right place.
- At times, they even fight with god and abuse him out of frustration.
- They are not much concerned about rituals like lighting a dhoop stick (incense stick) or candles for worship.
- They are also not concerned about going to a temple, church, or mosque.
- They pray to god from any place at any time.
- They do not cause trouble to other humans or animals in the name of god.
God-fearing people
- These people practice rituals and worship God out of fear.
- They do so at homes or temples, or other places of worship.
- They are influenced to do so due to circumstances or some preachings.
- They can see the god in the way they are influenced to do so.
- They see god only in idols or places of worship, and every other thing in the world is normal like them and not god.
- They like listening to scriptures or reading books to enlighten their knowledge of god and influence others with that knowledge.
- They discriminate against gods, religions, the poor, rich, etc.
- They practice rituals like donations, lighting candles, and following any religious preachers.
- They can be violent in the name of god. Even terrorists who act in the name of God are also an example of God-fearing people.
Among some religions, there is a sacrifice of animals to god.
God Loving vs. God-Fearing People
| Sl.No | God Loving | God-fearing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | They are bold in the matters of God | They are timid in the name of god. |
| 2 | They are strongly connected to God and his path. | They are forcefully connected to god and his path |
| 3 | The passion of God comes from within. They do not need anyone to explain or provoke god. | The passion of god comes due to external influences and experiences. |
| 4 | They do not deviate from God due to external influences. | They may deviate from the path of god. |
| 5 | They are less concerned about religion. | They are very strict about the religion they follow. |
| 6 | They have self-knowledge and wisdom of God. | They have more bookish knowledge than their own wisdom. |
| 7 | They are stable and do not change into god-fearing types. | They are less stable and may convert into a god-loving type. |
| 8 | They are peace-loving and sympathetic to the poor, needy, and helpless. | They can be violent as they do not see god in other things around. |
| 9 | They do not need religious preaching to have the thoughts of God. | They need religious perching to have thought of God in their heart. |
| 10 | They are more responsible citizens. | They may or may not be responsible citizens. |
| 11 | They prefer a simple lifestyle. | If chance permits, they adopt a prosperous lifestyle. |
My brother just asked me what it means to be God fearing. He didn’t understand it. That’s because our Mom was God Loving. God fearing is the lowest level of obedience. It’s when we obey his commandments because we are afraid of the consequences. God loving is to Follow Him and try to be like him because we love him
And he loves us. And if we truly LOVE that encapsulates all of the commandments.
I don’t agree that being in a church precludes being God loving. Many in churches are God loving too.
Why was Jesus born and crucified????? He is the New Testament not the Old !!!!!
You can't love and fear something at the same time we fear God because we don't know him or know what's after death but once you learn God loves you and what love means then you see you can only love or fear God. and in heaven there will be no need to fear God so just learn the most important thing which is love. there is only one definition for fear and it is not good. practice positive things and you become more positive. but to practice fear is to practice negative. the more you practice negative that becomes you.
Interesting and great clarity of thought on god and fear matthew. :-)
What if fear didn't mean fear as in be afraid of punishment from God brought on from sin, but rather fear like a child is afraid of disappointing their parent?
Fear or feeling of guilt for diappointing parents could there.
But one has to understand that the parents are more forgiving and ever loving of their children.
So, if the issue is not within your control, it is better to discuss with them and they can understand it with open mind.
In most cases, for parents well being of their child is more important than any other related issues.
Interesting table. It appears to be non-Christian in origin.
The Bible tells us that fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Psa 111:10], and it is our human duty (Eccles. 12:13), and is clean, enduring for ever (Psalm 19:9).
However, as we grow in our knowledge of God, we like God more & more, then love God more & more, and our fear of God somewhat dissipates, but never goes away totally. Even if we 100% trust God, are we, as frail, sinful humans, 100% trustworthy? As imperfect humans, could we lose our love for God, as Satan did, then God would be forced to react against us, just as He divorced Israel for her repeated infidelity (Jeremiah 3:8), or tossed Satan out of Heaven, and ultimately judge Satan to an eternity in the Lake of Fire. Should we not be afraid of God and this possible infidelity by us in the back recesses of our mind?
Hi Glenn, the fear of god stems from the fear of death and uncertainty. But does a real child fears its mother or father? No, unless the parents are harsh. For a god-loving person, there will be no fear of God.
Load of rubbish. Bible says to fear God first. Love and respect follows via Spirit. End.
I totally believe that, we should love god and not be afraid of god. I have one family member who do worship to pleased to god. He always take name of god like he got some punishment to do so.