Fear Ye Not the Reproach of Men
One of the messages of Isaiah 51 that Jacob read to his people (recorded in 2 Nephi 8) could perhaps be paraphrased this way: the things of the world are a lot less important than you think. We spend so much time focused on and worrying about jobs, money, possessions, status, and the perceptions of the world, but Isaiah’s wake up call to us in this chapter is that those things will not have lasting value. He wrote, “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner” (v6). We can be impressed by the majesty of the sky and the grandeur of the earth, and yet even that which appears so permanent to us will “vanish away like smoke.” And the people who live on the earth, those leaders and celebrities and athletes and others whom the world sees as so important, what will become of them? They “shall die in like manner” to the earth like all of us.
We are often so consumed by fears and worries about how people perceive us, how the world judges us, but Isaiah counseled: “Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool” (7-8). No matter how powerful or prestigious, how intelligent or influential, every man and woman who is on the earth now will one day be put in the grave and their bodies become subject to the moths and worms. If we have spent our days worried about our image before the world and its reproach, then we will one day realize it had little value. Isaiah’s piercing question should cause us careful reflection: “Behold, who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of man, who shall die, and of the son of man, who shall be made like unto grass?” (v12) Why are we so worried about what other men and women think of us—it is “the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth” whom we should fear and respect, whose commendation we should be seeking (v13).
So what is important for us in this life? Isaiah declared these words of the Lord in this chapter, “But my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished” (v6). He emphasized again, “But my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation” (v8). Righteousness and our eternal salvation should concern us far more than the ephemeral doings of man; it is the Lord to whom we should look and seek after. Jehovah invited us through Isaiah: “Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation…. Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law…. Awake, awake! Put on strength, O arm of the Lord…. I am he; yea, I am he that comforteth you” (v4,7,12). It is the Lord to whom we should look and on whom we should place the desires of our hearts, for it is through Him that we will find “joy and gladness” and where “thanksgiving and the voice of melody” will endure (v3). Mormon reminded us that one day we “must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil” (Mormon 3:20). At that day we will not be worried in the least how the world perceived us or the status we obtained on earth or the possessions we enjoyed. The only thing that will matter to us in that day is what the Lord thinks of us.
We are often so consumed by fears and worries about how people perceive us, how the world judges us, but Isaiah counseled: “Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool” (7-8). No matter how powerful or prestigious, how intelligent or influential, every man and woman who is on the earth now will one day be put in the grave and their bodies become subject to the moths and worms. If we have spent our days worried about our image before the world and its reproach, then we will one day realize it had little value. Isaiah’s piercing question should cause us careful reflection: “Behold, who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of man, who shall die, and of the son of man, who shall be made like unto grass?” (v12) Why are we so worried about what other men and women think of us—it is “the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth” whom we should fear and respect, whose commendation we should be seeking (v13).
So what is important for us in this life? Isaiah declared these words of the Lord in this chapter, “But my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished” (v6). He emphasized again, “But my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation” (v8). Righteousness and our eternal salvation should concern us far more than the ephemeral doings of man; it is the Lord to whom we should look and seek after. Jehovah invited us through Isaiah: “Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation…. Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law…. Awake, awake! Put on strength, O arm of the Lord…. I am he; yea, I am he that comforteth you” (v4,7,12). It is the Lord to whom we should look and on whom we should place the desires of our hearts, for it is through Him that we will find “joy and gladness” and where “thanksgiving and the voice of melody” will endure (v3). Mormon reminded us that one day we “must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil” (Mormon 3:20). At that day we will not be worried in the least how the world perceived us or the status we obtained on earth or the possessions we enjoyed. The only thing that will matter to us in that day is what the Lord thinks of us.
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