May 20 - Hebrews 10:24

let us consider

how we may spur one another on

toward love and good deeds.

Hebrews 10:24

 

Yes. Let’s consider that.

 

How can you spur your spouse to be a better person?

 

Wait? Did you just notice the key word there: “spur”? Kicking them with or without sharp objects – such as spurs – will not make them a better person! Criticism is NOT how to make them a better person.

 

Nagging? No, that doesn’t work either.

 

Lecturing? Save that for your kids … who won’t respond to it either.

 

I’ve often tried modeling. If I want someone to do something, I try modeling with my own life, hoping that they’ll catch the vision. So far, this is best suggestion. But if you’re trying to be subtle, subtlety (and subversiveness) often doesn’t work. We work harder and harder to model the behavior, and we feel offended by the other person’s obtuse inability to “get the point.”

 

Therefore, conversation always works better. Just say what you want … in love. Reveal why it matters to you. And sometimes they’ll take a step forward. And sometimes they won’t. But don’t go back and nag about it.

 

So … this is pretty discouraging advice, so far, isn’t it? Indeed, how can we successfully spur one another on toward love and good deeds?

 

How? By drawing closer to God. Good deeds are works. Love can be turned into a work too. And the only power we have, on our own, to do good deeds is our own power. Meaning … it’s limited. On my own, I’m only as strong as I am … and too often people like you and me are tired, distracted, and discouraged. Thus, spurring me to do more – more love, more good deeds – only further exhausts me.

 

So what’s the solution? By drawing closer to God, we get to borrow his power. And it’s more than that. We come to learn his priorities. Love and good deeds cease to be a to-do-list. They become a way of life as he becomes our life. Selfish motives wither as righteousness flourishes.

 

Question: Are you spurring one another on to deeper faith? And since you can’t change the other person, are you – foremost – taking personal responsibility for you own personal relationship with God?

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’d retranslate this verse,

“spur one another on to … faith!”