Be Good. Be Smart. Admonish.

Author

Wes Schaeffer
November 08, 2019

From today’s reading…

I myself am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters,

that you yourselves are full of goodness,

filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.”

Admonish? ADMONISH? Who the heck does Paul think he is? He needs to remember JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED! JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED!

JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED!”

(Is it just me, or do you also get tired of these cherry-picking cafeteria-Christians whose understanding of the Bible is about as deep as my understanding of vegan recipes and cold fusion? But I digress.)

According to the Oxford dictionary, the word admonish means “warn or reprimand someone firmly.”

Two days ago Paul told us to “hate what is evil.”

Today he tells us to “admonish one another.”

That sounds like there is a difference between good and evil, right and wrong.

That sounds like those differences are even…obvious.

That sounds like we are supporting/doing evil/wrong when we fail to warn/reprimand those we see doing evil/wrong things.

Admonishing someone for doing the wrong things is not the same as judging/condemning them to hell for all eternity.

On the contrary, paying attention to and supporting and admonishing one another is the only way for us all to…

Stay the course. Keep the faith. Endure.