The underlying message of the Book of Proverbs is that the fear of the Lord is essential to wise living.
As the book itself says, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Pr.9:10).
A lot of people struggle with this.
That is, 'the fear of the Lord' part.
They wonder...
... am I supposed to live in dread of God?
... and didn't Jesus come so God would be my friend?
I get this.
They are good questions.
But if we aren't careful how we answer them we can end up approaching God in a way that's casual... and even dangerous.
So I would say no, we are not to live in dread of God.
And yes, Jesus came that God would be our friend.
But...
We shouldn't ever forget that our life and destiny are in God's hands.
So we should always regard Him with awe.
And should always take him seriously... never casually.
Kind of like the way we should approach electricity.
And that means take Him seriously when it comes to the kind of life we live.
And take Him seriously when He tells us in His Word that He sent His Son to redeem us and transform us and use us to bring His kingdom to the world.