Paul Thompson speaks of how the fear of God frees us from ourselves. It keeps us from the bondage of continuous personal self driven innovation. God's wisdom and authority teach us that it is good to put sin to death, to turn from our own ways, and to fear Him instead of acting as free agents inventing our own lives. Putting sin to death by the fear of God makes for a happier person. This is how the fear of God liberates. https://ncfic.org/fearofgod

It keeps a reality in front of me that I really am a very insignificant being. It doesn't matter what I can think in my mind of how clever I am or how innovative I am or all of these things if I can keep in proper perspective of who God is It's actually the part that keeps that that finally does liberate me From trying to think that I've I've got to be independently creative. I've got to be independently innovative in how I work, and how I raise my family, and how I pastor a church. It's very liberating to know that I need God, and that God wants me to want Him. God wants me to need Him.

So the mortification of sin puts me in a better position because I know that I'm having to put that sin aside and kill that sin and destroy that sin in my life so that I can be in a position to say like the psalmist, I want to delight in his law. I want to love obeying the Lord, but I cannot do that if I have not put sin to death, If I have not put myself by the work of the Holy Spirit, who's doing all of this work, my submitting to Him so that He might do this work in my life, makes me a happier person, makes me a more pleasant person to be around for other people because I'm not putting myself in front of them I'm submitting myself to my Lord, my Creator you