The writer of Proverbs says the fear of man “brings a snare”. We see this demonstrated in the life of King Saul. One of the biggest reasons Saul failed as king was that his concern for what people thought of him was greater than his desire to please the Lord. When Samuel confronted King Saul about his disobedience, telling him his kingdom would be torn from him, Saul pleaded saying “yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel”. Even after God’s reprimand, Saul’s greatest concern was how he appeared before the people. His self- confidence was based on their opinion of him as their king. David on the other hand, wasn’t moved by popular opinion. When the ark of God returned from the house of Obed-Edom, he danced with all his might before the Lord, not fearing what people thought about him (2 Samuel 6:20). In fact, he said he would be even more “undignified” than that. David wasn’t deterred by the opinions of others – it was only God’s opinion he sought. As a result, God’s hand of blessing, favour and protection was on his life. Going forward, we should adopt the same mindset as David and not fear the opinions of man, but rather fear the Lord. We should rather delight and strengthen ourselves in Him to see His hand of blessing and protection in and over everything that concerns us.