The prize of Christianity

[John V]

Don't you think that in context, the word fear means something more akin to respect. For example, you walk past a junk yard and a vicious dog crashes against the chain link fence growling and barking at you. At first it will startle you, but then you realize he's defending his territory and you have to respect him for that. Or the way you must respect a loaded gun, even if you know how to handle.

(wow, I just compared God to a junkyard dog and a loaded gun...)

I've never studied the usages of the underlying hebrew word. I figure that if it meant respect, it would have been translated as respect. However, translations are sometimes wanting, and sometimes the first few influence all the rest. IOW, I say fear, but I'm open to respect if that can be argued with something solid.