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Bible Study -
Devotional
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Contributed by Phil Spadaro
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Saturday, 07 October 2006 |
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Page 1 of 2  How to Help Each Other
1 Thessalonians 5:14 And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are
idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
(NIV)
Have you ever been in a situation with a brother who needs help, but it
is not obvious what would be helpful? Do I encourage? Should I rebuke
or challenge him? Does he need help? Perhaps there is a brother who
constantly asks for help, which you willingly provide and yet he gets
worse or settles into a pattern of complacency. Misapplying actions to
attitudes can be frustrating, fruitless and futile. However, God has
given instructions on how to best love one another.
A common mistake is to attempt to address needs without first analyzing where our brother is in character and spirituality. Discerning his current demeanor in a particular area will determine our course of action. Is the brother weak, discouraged, lazy or arrogant? We must apply this to the specific area in which we are trying to help him. For example; Brother Jim typically battles with discouragement. However today he needs help with evangelism. We look at his challenges and character in the context of outreach, not in general. Perhaps we find he is not discouraged (or timid) but weak in this area. Rather than comfort him, we will assist him by proselytizing with him.
Identifying lazy attributes and character is key for not getting into fruitless patterns. It is sometimes easier and less time consuming to help or comfort the lazy brother. He portrays himself as a victim and helpless. If we have any compassion, it is stirred. But we are actually being to duped to enable his laziness. We end up doing the work he should have done. His laziness is not addressed and he is not helped. Others who could have been helped by us are not because resources have been misapplied and squandered.
By taking the time to determine if someone is weak or timid (discouraged) we can avoid the tragic mistake of shutting them down. Warning or rebuking a weak or timid individual will not help them. They will be afraid of further contact. Self accusation will go from bud to blossom and consume them. Not understanding our misstep, we will up the heat with more challenges. This leads to a tragic cycle. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 keeps us from making these mistakes.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 07 October 2006 )
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Bible Study 
