Provoking People

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Hebrews 10:24

One of my high school classes had a teacher who could not control her class. They learned how to drive her to extreme measures. The noise from that class distracted the neighboring classes. I was in a neighboring class and, in addition to the noise; even an occasional eraser would come flying in the window from next door. The goal of the troublemakers was to drive the teacher to such desperation that she would climb up on her desk and repeatedly blow a whistle. Every few days we would know that they had succeeded when we would begin to hear that angry whistle.

It is extremely easy for us to provoke another person. In fact, from early childhood most of us have studied other people and how to punch their “buttons”. Many marriage relationships revolve around how to trigger one another’s core fears so that we can control or change our spouse.

Many years ago, we somehow got into a contest in our family devotions. Some of the children persisted in keeping their eyes closed while we read and talked about Scripture and how to apply it in our lives. This constantly triggered one of my core fears of being invalidated. In contrast, some of our children who have become adults have encouraged their younger siblings by becoming examples of alertness and participation.

As brothers and sisters in Christ, we have a responsibility to fellow believers to be leaders in good works, worship and in seeking God. This Scripture calls us to study and meditate on how to stir up love and good works in others. One way is to propose and carry out projects that help others, involve others and inspire others. If we are parents, it is vital to consider whether our example is provoking our children to love and good works. Let’s ask God to help us become provoking people.

Project:
Let's consider, plan and carry out a project to help with the needs resulting from Hurricane Katrina.