HELP, DON'T HINDER

 

HELP, DON’T HINDER

Rom. 14:1 Accept Christians who are weak in faith, and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. NLT

The test of your maturity in Christ is not so much your ability to live in a godly way; it's rather your ability to not think of yourself better than others in your understanding of spiritual things. Don't measure your worth by other people, whether they are less or more knowledgeable than you when it comes to the Scriptures. Don't fall into the trap of lording it over others simply because God has given you insight that others may not have yet. It is not for us to "convince" others of the truthfulness and reliability of Scripture. It is the Spirit of Christ who does that. Only He can guide the soul and mind into the Word and bring understanding from it. Our task is simply to present what God says, and let Him take it from there.

It is not acceptable for us to look down on those who may be weak in faith. We are not to take it upon ourselves to "fix" them. Guard your soul from spiritual pride. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking of yourself as being better than others or more mature in faith just because you may have better understanding than they do on certain spiritual matters.

In love, we can guide them into truth but never drag them. In love, we meet them where they are at and prayerfully do what we can to help them grow stronger in faith and understanding. If their thinking about things needs to change, let the Lord do it. Arguing only alienates people from one another. It never will cause someone to change their thinking. Patience, gentleness, love, and prayer are the keys to helping a weaker brother become strong.

Instead of helping weaker Christians become strong in faith, we hinder them when we argue with them over matters of the faith. We discourage them and if we are not careful, turn them away from the faith. Be wise and be a helper instead of a hindrance to the weaker in faith.