Stop Regarding Man

Have you ever wondered why God designed us to breathe?

I suspect it has something to do with our dependence. We can go without sleeping or eating for a day or two, but breath reminds us we can’t survive even two minutes on our own.

Every moment of every day, we’re dependent on a respiratory system that we don’t govern.

We are weak.

I’ll let you ponder the implications of that for your own life, but for now I want to apply it to how we see other people.

“Stop regarding man

in whose nostrils is breath,

For of what account is he?” (Isaiah 2:22, ESV)

We fear other people. We worry that Ginger won’t admire our dress, Lacey won’t admire our sense of humor, and Sandy won’t admire our parenting. Those three have it all together, and we don’t want them to know that we have “it all” falling apart.

But Ginger, Lacey, and Sandy have to breathe, too. They’re not self-sufficient. They’re not worthy of worship.

In fact, the people we fear – like the ones Isaiah’s hearers feared – “shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground from before the terror of the LORD, and from the splendor of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.” (Isaiah 2:19, ESV, see also verse 21)

When we fear people, we seek the approval of those who are going to run and hide when God shows up. We seek the approval of an army of cowards.

There’s only One who is worthy of our fear. He is the Terror of the earth. A day is coming when “the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.” (Isaiah 2:17, ESV)

So...

“Stop regarding man

in whose nostrils is breath,

For of what account is he?” (Isaiah 2:22, ESV)

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