Daily Devotional for Friday, May 24

Rebuking the Recipients

“Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us,” 2 Thessalonians 3:6.

Sometimes love hurts. There is a thing we often hear of called “tough love.” Parents discipline children, bosses discipline employees, and God disciplines us. Unless they have something wrong psychologically, none of the above people discipline those in their charge because they enjoy it. Did your parent ever tell you, “This will hurt me more than it hurts you”? Mine never did, but I understand the sentiment. Rebuke is uncomfortable and even painful for the one doing the rebuking, but it is sometimes necessary.

Paul closed his teaching to the the church in Thessalonica in this chapter, and not all of the words are words of encouragement. Some are instructions on how to deal with those among us who are harming the Lord’s church. Not everyone plays by the rules, which is true even in God’s house. Paul said that some were unruly, backbiters and many other things. On a personal level, we have no obligation to interact with those people; we are clearly told not to. In other words, hanging around with the church gossipers is a poor plan. Guilt by association is a real thing. If you hang around with that person and listen to what he says, you are as guilty as he is.

Is not allowing yourself to be part of the bad behavior enough? Perhaps that is all it takes for the guilty one to change. On the other hand, it may not be enough. We may have to rebuke a brother. Let us always remember that, even in the rebuke, the guilty one remains our brother or sister, and we should always deal with that person that way. After all, even in correction, God treats us like His children.

JUST A THOUGHT
If you correct a brother, always remember that the goal is not to punish or banish but to restore.

Wally Fry