14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. (I Thessalonians 5)
As Paul, Silas and Timothy continue to wrap up this letter, they also want to say a few words about how we deal with our brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling in their spiritual lives. How do we "spur them on", as the writer of Hebrews tells us? It means we are willing to warn them about where idleness leads - to gossip and all sorts of other "no good"ness. But is also means that we step in alongside them and encourage them, lend a helping hand, and being patient with them, as God is with us. We cannot do one without the other. If we do not warn them, but only encourage, they will not take the situation seriously; if we only warn but do not come alongside them, we will be a clanging cymbal of self-rightousness they do not want to listen to. May we be balanced as we seek to spur one another on - for their good, and that of the whole body.
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