Fear?

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." (Psalm 111.10a)
Fear? Is that really the word the writer of this Psalm meant to use? It seems so negative. It seems so old-fashioned. It seems so punitive.
The word in the original Hebrew of this Psalm is "Yur'ah." It means "fear, terror, awesome or terrifying thing (object causing fear), fear (of God), respect, reverence, piety revered."
So, any attempt to soften the meaning to only "admire, look up to, etc." is misplaced. God is the all-powerful God of the Universe. Fear is appropriate for One who can create the whole Universe with one Word. It seems in our society today that there are many who seem to fear nothing. I still see that bumper sticker around: "NO FEAR." True fear of the Lord of the Universe might not be a bad thing.
But the interesting thing is that we are not only to "fear" the Lord. We are to love the Lord too! And the kind of love that the Lord shows us is evidence that God doesn't just want to be feared. He actually wants to have a relationship with us. Scripture shows us that God does not just want us to fear him like we would a prison guard or oppressive dictator. God wants us to know him and for us to let him know us. So, the fear is in the context of a God who loves us.
Fear God as the One who commands us to be obedient and holds our lives in his hands. Love God as the One who chose to come in the flesh of Jesus Christ and extend grace and mercy to us. Fear God as the One who expects us to actually follow his commands. Love God as the One who gave those commands not so we would miss all the fun, but so we would be protected from a lifestyle that leads to sorrow and death.