"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. -Matthew 10:28" Here, Jesus sums it up pretty well; other people may hate you, torture you, kill you, but that's all they can do to you. They can't torture your soul, or really do anything to you then. On the other hand, God--and only God-- has "the power to inflict that destruction where all offers of mercy and all calls to righteousness have been rejected" as Charles Ellicott wrote in his commentary of the New Testament. And [url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/bible-answers/spirituallife/what-does-it-mean-to-fear-god.html]here,[/url] I found an article that offers other reasons behind the term "God-fearing". According to the site, "fearing God is good because it saves us from caving into our own sinful nature", and it is essentially a check and balance against how we would normally sinfully act in a situation. If a person fears God, "they are more likely to keep their word and treat others with kindness."