“Does each one of us truly fear God?” Gerald Flurry asked. “We need to examine ourselves there and face reality” (Royal Vision, March-April 2025). As we approach Passover, this is an important area of self-examination. Do we truly fear God?

What does it mean to fear God? Godly fear is a “healthy respect and awe for Him, for His power and His laws” (Youth ’82, September 1982). It’s a type of fear that leads to a happy and abundant life—now and forever. It keeps us from things that would otherwise destroy us.

How do we know if we truly fear God? How can we examine ourselves in this area?

To answer, let’s examine one proverb that teaches us about an aspect of fearing God. This proverb is a helpful measuring stick in our self-examination.

“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil …” (Proverbs 8:13). The Amplified Bible describes this fear as “reverent fear” and
“worshipful awe.” That kind of fear of God leads us to hate evil. As you examine how much you fear God, consider your attitude toward evil. God hates evil. Do you hate it as He does? Do you hate the negative fruits of evil?

How we respond to evil is indicative of how much we fear God.

“Today, people joke about sin. They laugh about sin. They write of it, talk of it, sing of it, as if it were a casual, daily, normal, unimportant thing” (Good News, November 1962).

To fear of God means to hate evil. The remainder of Proverbs 8:13 specifically defines evil: “pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” These sins tear down and destroy God’s creation. When pride and arrogance took root in Lucifer, it set him on the evil way. It perverted and twisted his entire being. He became Satan the devil.

When examining how much we fear God, we must also ask how we feel about pride. Pride often conveys a sense of self-exaltation or an inflated sense of one’s own importance. It pushes God out of the picture. That is why it precedes destruction (Proverbs 16:18). A proud attitude refuses correction—it refuses to be taught or instructed. God desires that we be meek, contrite and teachable. No wonder He hates pride. Do we hate it too? Our attitude toward pride shows how much we fear God.

Similar to pride is arrogance, or self-exaltation against God. An arrogant attitude will refuse to acknowledge sin. This attitude is “puffed up” (1 Corinthians 4:6). Exposing and eradicating that attitude is emphasized each year during the Days of Unleavened Bread. Can we see arrogance in ourselves? Do we think like God about it? Do we hate it? Or are we casual about it?

We are instructed, “Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men” (Proverbs 4:14). If we fear God, we will hate the evil way and then not go in it.

It’s simple: We can’t fear God and tolerate evil. The two do not mix. That is why God also hates a froward mouth. Froward means perverse. It can mean lying or duplicity. It’s so easy to say one thing but do another. God hates that hypocrisy—it’s a form of perversion. We must hate and eradicate the double standard in our lives. “Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee” (verse 24).

“We must work to think more like God,” Mr. Flurry writes. “Ask yourself: Do I see good and evil the way God does? Do I view rebellion and arrogance with the same hatred that God does?” (The Psalms of David and the Psalter of Tara).

“Would you shut things down when it’s evil and wicked?” he asked in that 2025 Royal Vision article. Often, we have the power to turn the wrong things off or to stop wrong activities or thoughts. What do we do in those moments? It is worth examining ourselves in this area. “We have to react the way God does. Is this the way we think? God wants to know.”

Move forward in the opposite direction with positive action. Instead of pride, grow in humility. Instead of arrogance, become more teachable. Instead of walking the evil way, run the path of obedience. Instead of having a froward mouth, speak truth and good words.

“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:7). If we truly fear God, we will hate evil and take action. That will be real, discernible evidence of godly fear in our lives.