Hebrews 10:24

How talented many of us are in provoking one another. Many times we speak before thinking. We fail to consider how our actions and words will affect others. We act or speak at the expense of others. We provoke hurt in others by our words or perhaps sometimes by our failure to speak.

There have been some people with great capabilities in the Lord’s church devastated in spirit because of the malice, anger, hostility, and bitterness of others. People who could have accomplished great works in the Lord’s kingdom have been ruined in their effectiveness because of the attitudes of others. Sometimes motivated by jealousy or resentment, a few have been able to replace the optimism and zeal of good workers in the kingdom with frustration and a sense offutility. Often due to carelessness and a failure to consider the effect of our behavior on others, we have caused no little grief in the hearts of some of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

If we read the entirety of the twenty-fourth verse of Hebrews 10, we find that we have an obligation to provoke others to “love andgood works.” We should guard our motives and activities to insure that what we say and what we do encourage others to do more good works and promote an atmosphere of love and good will. The command we find here can no more be disregarded than any other command. Let the spirit of mutual concern and encouragement prevail.

You are the real loser if you provoke others, but not to love and good works. Your heart is not right with God!

Lester Kamp