The Checklist
1 Thessalonians 5:14-21 NLT
14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.
15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people.
16 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.
I can't speak for everyone, but I can speak from personal preference. I like to check everything off my to-do list. I have a tablet with boxes that I can check whencompleted. There's a great feeling about completing the list. Granted, there are times when I put too much on my list, but the basic idea is to get it all done.
Paul gives the church at Thessalonica a list of things to do as believers. And if we work under the premise that all of God's Word is important, we should look to do the whole list. Not simply the parts we like. I won't take the time to break down the entire list. It starts with the treatment of people and then shifts to our personal connection with the Lord.
Treat people well. Warn the lazy and encourage the timid. Take tender care of the weak and be patient with all people. That's enough to keep us busy for a while. I have to make sure I am working to check off being patient with all people. And when it comes to the weak, we are to be tender with the weak, not disgusted with the weak. These are clear instructions.
Not repaying evil for evil but always trying to do good to each other and all people. I had to look that up in different, more "accurate translations." But it still says the same thing, so there are no loopholes in God's checklist.
Then the list shifts to personal behavior. Always be joyful. I actually like the older translations that read rejoice always. Rejoicing always denotes a choice, where "always be joyful" insinuates a state of being. But in either case, if we are rejoicing, we'll be joyful. And if we are joyful, chances are good, we'll be rejoicing. Never stop praying. That implies we don't give up on prayer, and it becomes a staple of our everyday life. Be thankful in all circumstances. That involves a choice and an effort to implement. You'll notice this is not a simple list, but if the Lord inspired Paul to write these words, then it's a doable list.
Don't stifle or quench the Holy Spirit. Don't discount prophetic words. Don't swallow everything that is done or said and hold onto what is good. Oh, and keep away from evil. This list should keep us busy until Jesus comes back. But I sense that this is one of those lists that we never quite complete. We can always improve in rejoicing, treating people well, and working with the Holy Spirit. Maybe in heaven…
Prayer
Lord, thank You for the list. I can never say I don't know what to do to follow You and live in such a way that You are pleased. And thank You that if You said it, I can do it!