What if we recognized their issue as fear?

Most modern freedom is, at root, fear. It is not so much that we are too bold to endure rules; it is rather that we are too timid to endure responsibilities. ~ G.K. Chesterton

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Look at any given person, any person on the planet, near or far. What would you see if you saw them, purely, with the eyes of God?

One thing you’d see is someone who is bent toward hiding from God much like Adam and Eve after the fall (Ge 3:10). It’s not the only thing God sees, but importantly it is a consequence of sin that we have all inherited from them.

Now imagine looking at that person, seeing them as hiding from God. 

Like Adam and Eve, some people might try to hide (as if that were possible). Some numb themselves. Some shake their fist and yell at others that God is just an invention to help us face the fear of death (which, rather ironically, is one explanation of a motivation toward atheism…to avoid the god-with-a-capital-g question).

Whatever their reason, how might our heart-response change if what we see is someone that is simply afraid of the responsibility they have for the consequences of their sin?

What if, no matter what they portray on the outside, we saw them as full of fear?

I imagine how we might respond to a child or puppy full of fear. We’d likely soften our approach. Perhaps if we got better at recognizing the root issue as fear we’d be a little quicker to respond with love, patience, and gentleness.