I Thessalonians 4 - II Thessalonians 3

Discernment

Ever worked with someone who wasn’t pulling their fair share of the load? Ever felt like you were giving more than 50% in a relationship, where the other person made you carry more of the burden?

I confess, my first inclination in those situations is to assume the other person is lazy, and I resent the fact I’m doing more than they are.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:14, Paul helps us see there might be more than one reason why someone is falling down on the job, and we need to apply the right action to the right cause. He says “warn the idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, and be patient with all men.”

Know what? All three of those people look the same on the outside – no output! But if I’m not careful, and if I take the wrong action, I could cause worse problems.

If I warn the timid or weak, they’ll just wither up and melt away. They don’t need me jumping down their throat or berating them. A harsh word will drive them further into their shell, and they won’t come out again for fear of getting their head chopped off.

And if I encourage or help the idle, they’ll just continue to lie around doing nothing while feeling even better about themselves, because I obviously don’t mind they aren’t producing. They don’t need a gentle, kind word – they need a fire lit under them!

And if I help the timid, they’ll be offended. It’s not that they don’t know how to do the task at hand, but rather they lack the motivation or confidence to see it through. They just need someone to believe in them.

It’s so easy for me to judge another’s heart, and jump to the wrong conclusion about why they are acting the way they are. But no matter the root cause, Paul says I am to be patient with all men. That’s the hardest thing for me to do! Why can’t they pick up the pace? Work longer hours? Crank out more deliverables? Do more, better, with less?

It might just take an investment of my time to dig deeper into what is going on in someone’s life in order to correctly discern the core issue. God forgive me when I lack discernment, love, and patience!


Lee Thrasher
May 4