Fear is the enemy of faith. It works diligently, tirelessly, like an erosive force, wearing away and decreasing the depth of our soil that our roots threaten to surface and dry out, and the necessary nutrients for true growth be lacking. God's Word clearly depicts it as a spirit, that is, a personage, living and breathing, ever seeking to destroy; a spirit that must be reckoned with. For the Christian only the fear of God is encouraged, for to fear another is to put that one above the Lord. Everything else is the 'old man' rising up, that is, the flesh, or an enemy force as evil and destructive as satan himself.