I recently concluded a series from Ecclesiastes (www.fbcss.net/listen) with a message from Ecclesiastes 12:11 – “The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed….” In the lesson I said God prods us to right beliefs and Godly behavior. That got people’s attention. Then I said we should prod one another to achieve such lifestyles. That drew a different response.
(FYI, A goad is a rod with a sharp point on one end that was used to poke or prod animals so as to move them in the right direction – and to keep them from going in the wrong direction.)In a culture where the idea that moral absolutes are few and far between (if they exist at all), and the password to social acceptability is ‘live and let live,’ the suggestion that we should challenge another’s beliefs or behavior is itself suspect in the minds of some.
To put it bluntly, some people think prodding is prying and we should just keep our noses out of their business and our opinions to ourselves. Some Christians clearly have adopted a ‘judge not’ policy when it comes to interacting with their peers. They stamp their tolerance with: “judge not lest you be judged.”
But is it intolerant to challenge the actions of another person? Is prodding a fellow believer to change their actions or beliefs wrong?
Not according to the clear teaching of God’s Word and the consistent example of Christian history. The Bible is filled with prodders: Abraham and Moses were prodders. The writers of the wisdom literature (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, etc.), the prophets; even Jesus, Paul and James … they all prodded people to “fear God and keep the commandments.” Many of the doctrines and creeds we hold dearly were penned after much “prodding” back and forth between leaders and thinkers. I doubt there was much, ‘Well, have it your way.”
Christians are to prod one another to live right and to do good. We’re to do it in an attitude of love (and restoration, if necessary), but we are to reprove, rebuke and exhort one another. We need to commit to helping one another be better people.
I don’t think prodding a brother or sister to honor God in their daily life is to cross the threshold of their privacy.
Let us be filled with the love of God and have the mind of Christ as we prod one another with wise words.
(I hope you will join me each week for my 15-minute Bible study about faith at work in daily life at www.FaithNowMinistries.com/broadcasts, where you may also sign-up to receive my weekly blogs.)
