The fear of man is a snare, while trust in the LORD lifts a man up.
Two directions of fear are contrasted in Proverbs 29:25: The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted (v. 25). One direction snares; the other lifts.
The fear of man brings a snare. To fear what people might think, say, or do, more than what the LORD thinks, is to set a snare for one's own feet. The man whose decisions are governed by what others might say cannot live freely. He compromises convictions, hides truth, and bends to whatever pressure is loudest.
But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted. The man who trusts the LORD escapes the snare. He decides based on what is right under God, not what might be reported about him. The result, paradoxically, is exaltation. He rises in standing because he refused to be moved by lower fears. Daniel in Babylon and Joseph in Egypt both lived this verse. Trust in the LORD sets a man free from the trap of human opinion.
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Proverbs 29:25 meaning
Two directions of fear are contrasted in Proverbs 29:25: The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted (v. 25). One direction snares; the other lifts.
The fear of man brings a snare. To fear what people might think, say, or do, more than what the LORD thinks, is to set a snare for one's own feet. The man whose decisions are governed by what others might say cannot live freely. He compromises convictions, hides truth, and bends to whatever pressure is loudest.
But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted. The man who trusts the LORD escapes the snare. He decides based on what is right under God, not what might be reported about him. The result, paradoxically, is exaltation. He rises in standing because he refused to be moved by lower fears. Daniel in Babylon and Joseph in Egypt both lived this verse. Trust in the LORD sets a man free from the trap of human opinion.