Loading... RIGHT THING IN THE RIGHT WAY - Matthew 10:16
Wednesday, January 31st, 2007Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Jesus is in the process of sending his disciples out to preach to all Israel that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus gives the disciples power to do many mighty miracles. In addition, Jesus instructs the disciples how they are to act and what they are to take with them. Jesus then reminds the disciples that the world is not their friend, that they must be careful what they say. In addition to their words, they must be careful with their behavior.
The disciples were not to say what they wanted to say, when they wanted to say it. Instead, they needed to be careful. Jesus made sure that the disciples understood that the world hated them and that as such, they needed to be cautious. During the Sermon on the Mount, Christ had taught that you were not to cast your pearls before swine. This teaching regarding being as wise as a serpent and as harmless as doves is very similar. The disciples were to be shrewd not so as to deceive others, but to ensure that those who were truly ready to hear the good news of Christ’s arrival would actually hear them.
When you were of the world, the world was your friend. Now that you have put on the mind of Christ, the world hates you and all that you represent. Jesus is not telling you in this passage that you are to go around pretending that you are not who you really are. Remember that Christ commanded you that you are to let your light shine. Jesus is simply cautioning you that you need to be careful with whom you share your testimony to. You need to be careful to ensure that they are ready to receive the deep spiritual truths that come from your life.
You would not go out into the wild and catch a wild horse and attempt to force-feed it food just because it looks hungry. Instead, a wise individual would first establish a relationship with the horse so that when the horse trusts you, you can give it the food that it truly desires. So likewise, you must be wise as a serpent by helping the person you are ministering to understand that they are a sinner so that they will hear the truth that you have to offer. However, you must approach the world as a harmless dove, not as a ravaging lunatic who loudly proclaims that they are right. While you may be right, your approach will be such that you will lose the confidence of your listener and they will respond to you negatively because they will desire to prove you wrong.
You have the truth, but you must first understand how you present the truth. You can have all the boldness in the world, but you still must be careful how you preach the truth. You must understand that you cannot say what you want, when you want. Instead, you must ask God for wisdom to ensure that you do not turn someone’s heart against God because you were not careful in how you approached the world.
You need to change your mindset. No longer are you allowed to say whatever you want. Instead, you are the child of the king and HE has commanded you to use discernment in how you share the good news with the world. You must add virtue to your life so that the things of God are first in your life. Virtue will give you the motivation to share the truth with others. Virtue will also be a check in your life ensuring that you do the right thing in the right way. Allow God to work through you.