Overcoming Fear of Man

Fear of man is common among individuals. I believe this fear results from feeling insecure about yourself and leads you to anxiety and worry about what others think or say about you, how to please others so they would approve you and not reject you or how to continue living in a co-dependent relationship. Fear of man tends to take root in a person’s life based on how a person has lived in the past or based on his or her current life situation. Unless the root is identified, pulled up and discarded, it will continue to affect all areas in a person’s life. Let us discuss three scenarios of how I believe fear of man may have taken root and how to overcome this.

The first may have resulted from reliving your childhood memories and remembering your mother who tried her best to please everyone in her immediate and extended family and she was never loved or respected for her kindness. Now, you are modeling your mother’s behavior by doing the very thing that your mother did—pleasing others to obtain their approval and falling headlong into a state of fear of man . Fear of man has now taken root, and has affected all aspects of your life, your home, your work place, your friends, and your church family.

The second may have existed due to a trauma that you experience at childhood. This trauma has triggered fear of man in you and it has affected you in your adult life. The Ace study performed by Drs. Felitti and Anda, in 2002, showed that adults who experienced childhood trauma end up having ACE (adverse childhood experiences) or negative effects on their health and well being later in life. People who internalized traumatic experiences tend to have adult illnesses, which I believe, started with fear of man.

The third may include an existing co-dependent relationship with someone where you and that person depend on each other for moral support but the relationship has no relevance; it’s not moving forward and you know in your heart that the relationship should end; yet, you continue to maintain a relationship with that person although it is not in your best interest to do so. You are worried about what that person may think of you or how you are going to survive without his or her involvement in your life. You are experiencing fear of man.

In each of the three scenarios, the root cause is fear of man. How do you overcome this fear? The Bible gives us a way out. The Bible states in Proverbs 29:25 that “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” When you experience fear of man you feel trapped in the cage of your mind unable to think and exercise good judgment. Your only hope is trusting in the Lord who promises to keep you safe. When you trust God, your innermost personality is changed daily and you become that person that God has intended you to be. You never have to rely on the approval of others to know who you are in Christ; instead, trust in the One who died to set you free.