Some people are repelled by good and instead attracted to evil. They fear good but are curious about evil. How can good seem shallow while evil feels endlessly deep? Why does holiness feel like a closed door, while darkness feels like a labyrinth of possibility?
People get this backwards because of deception. Evil powers work tirelessly to convince us that God is the villain and everything else is freedom. Is God the “bad guy” or the “good guy” in your life? Do you fear Him out of repulsion, anticipated rejection, or respect?
Unhealthy Fear: Being Repelled by a False Understanding of God
What will heaven be like? Will it be boring? Goodness can appear dull or simplistic. Who wants to explore the same question that always has the same “right” answer? But this is a caricature. God made us to crave the depths of His infinite goodness. Evil, however, has done well selling the lie that God is either boring or impossibly complex.
When good seems boring and evil seems exciting, we’re in dangerous territory. It’s possible to be so disappointed with goodness that evil becomes fascinating. Horror movies, for example, thrive on this dynamic. They offer a thrill—a controlled descent into fear. But obsession with fear is never neutral. It conditions the soul to seek adrenaline over peace, chaos over clarity.
Why is fear so attractive? Because it feels powerful. It awakens something primal. It offers a counterfeit depth—a sense of mystery, danger, and intensity. But this depth is hollow. It doesn’t lead to truth; it leads to fragmentation. The more we indulge in fear for entertainment or escape, the more we normalize spiritual distortion.
Halloween can be a harmless celebration of costumes and candy. But for the careless, it can become an invitation to journey further into darkness, unaware of the spiritual danger ahead. The thrill of being scared—You nearly scared me to death!—connects us with our deepest fears before we’ve had time to discern the threat. Our bodies react instinctively, even when the danger is fictional.
But what happens when fear becomes a lifestyle? Whatever we focus on is where we’re heading. If we’re obsessed with fear, how will that ever end well? Excessive fascination with anything other than God is, essentially, an addiction. Fear becomes a false god—one that demands attention, feeds anxiety, and distorts reality.
I don’t blame anyone. We’re all looking for a way out of suffering. But in our desperation, let’s look to what brings life.
Have you ever been “scared to life”? It’s the opposite of being fascinated by evil. One day you realize your focus is leading you over a cliff, and you finally feel appropriately scared. You want to turn around and run the other direction.
That’s awesome! But if you run recklessly in any direction, you’ll eventually come to another cliff. The goal isn’t just to flee fear—it’s to reorient toward truth. Healthy fear doesn’t just warn us; it redirects us toward wisdom.
Unhealthy Fear: Anticipating Rejection from God
Another unhealthy caricature of God is seeing Him as an impossible-to-please master. Some people believe they’re one mistake away from being cast out of His presence. This fear isn’t reverence—it’s dread rooted in shame. It’s the fear of being judged and discarded, not the fear of being lovingly corrected.
This kind of fear leads to spiritual paralysis. Instead of drawing near to God, we hide. We perform. We try to earn what was never meant to be earned. But God’s love is not fragile. His grace is not conditional. He disciplines those He loves, but He does not abandon them.
When we anticipate rejection, we stop trusting. We start managing God instead of worshiping Him. We see ourselves as spiritual orphans, always wondering if we’re still welcome. But Scripture tells us that perfect love casts out fear—not the fear of reverence, but the fear of punishment (1 John 4:18-19).
Healthy Fear: Respecting Reality
A healthy fear of a deadly weapon, such as a gun, keeps you alive. Without fear, you might mishandle it. With hysterical fear, you might freeze or panic. But with respectful fear, you stay alert, careful, and wise.
Healthy fear has nothing to do with anxiety or worry. It’s not about being afraid of God’s mood swings. It’s about recognizing that God is holy, sovereign, and just—and that dependence on Him is the only way to live.
Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:28 NLT
This fear is not terror—it’s awe. It’s the trembling joy of standing before the One who holds all things together. It’s the humility of knowing we are not in control, and the peace of knowing He is.
Healthy fear leads to intimacy, not avoidance. It draws us into worship, not performance. It anchors us in reality, not illusion. And most importantly, it teaches us that the deepest mystery is not found in darkness—but in the radiant holiness of God.
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Last Updated 20251109
Matt Pavlik is a professional counselor, author, and devoted follower of Christ. With decades of experience in Christian counseling, he writes with theological depth and everyday clarity. His resources—centered on salvation, identity, marriage, and emotional healing—are anchored in Scripture and guide believers to discover the freedom of their identity in Christ and the security of their salvation in Him. He and his wife Georgette, married since 1999, live in Centerville, Ohio, and have four adult children.
[…] attitude makes a difference. Do all you can to guard your heart against bitterness toward God. A healthy fear of God is good. At any moment, you have the ability to choose a different path. With each decision you make, […]