I have been studying that one little verse at the end of 1Thessalonians. “And we exhort you, brothers: warn those who are irresponsible, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” [5:14 HCSB]
I started looking into that verse when I was a bit discouraged about the path my two auto-immune diseases were taking. It was that second command in the verse, “comfort the discouraged,” which drew me to it.
But then I looked at the other three commands. The first one is “warn those who are irresponsible.”
Irresponsible, or unruly as other versions render it, is ataktos. It means out of order or out of line. Paul is identifying those who refuse to observe God’s guidelines and live in faith.
Christians are given an injunction to warn (or admonish as some translations render the word) those who are idle or disorderly in their conduct. The order to warn or admonish was not given just to leaders but applies to all “the brethren.”
The church at Thessalonica faced a lot of opposition, both from the Jews and the Gentiles. They were vulnerable to threats of stoning, beatings, torture and even death. It would take all of them together to weather the storms that came against them.
While we, as believers in our culture, may not be vulnerable to those same kinds of threats, we do face opposition. It is imperative that we look out for each other and when we see one acting irresponsible in the faith, we should warn them – not harshly or from a judgmental spirit – but in love and with a big load of grace. (Remember: God always deals with us in love, giving us an example of how we are to approach others.)
Today: Thank you LORD for those who look out for other Christians. Give us a willingness to love and act in grace toward those who are irresponsible or out of line.
