fear of man

Matthew 22:16

"Teacher," they said, "we know that you are a man of integrity
and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who
they are."

I am reading a book right now called "When People Are Big and God is Small." The author says this:

"The fear of man wields awesome power. The praise of others can seem more glorious to us than the praise of God."...Peer pressure is perhaps the most tragic form of the fear of man. We spend too much time wondering what others may have thought about our outfit or the comment we made. We see opportunities to testify about Christ, but we avoid them. We are more concerned about looking stupid (a fear of man) than we are about acting sinfully (fear of the Lord)"

Please let these words encourage you not to care what people think about you. Care only about God getting the most glory possible. Don't let the fear of man stop you from doing what Christ has commanded us. Share the gospel, stop sinning by fearing man more than God.

Psalm 27: 1-4

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me, to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.