If needing or fearing people is as universal a problem as it seems, then we would expect Scripture to be filled with rich descriptions and in-depth teaching about it. And that is exactly what we find. One of the Bible's dominant questions is, "Whom will you fear (need, be controlled by)? Will you fear God or people? Scripture gives three basic reasons why we fear other people ... [:]

1. We fear people because they can expose and humiliate us.
2. We fear people because they can reject, ridicule, or despise us.
3. We fear people because they can attack, oppress, or threaten us.

Edward T. Welch, When People Are Big and God Is Small