God-Fearing?

I never cease to be amazed by this expression that means that a “God-Fearing” person is deeply religious, which would suggest that if you don't fear God you can't really be viewed as a true believer, and further down this line that God must be a pretty awful character to worship if fear is the main motivation to do so.

Sure, this is just an expression that finds its origin in 1835, I'm told, but it remains nonetheless very misleading while I'm certain it's more logically grounded than most would suspect.

I can't deny that the God I was told about when I was young was more an enforcer than a lover and this is why I choose to get as far as I could from him as possible.

So for me, “God-Fearing” still rings true and literal while fear isn't a measure I want around me!