19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
What do you think about this warning from Ezekiel? To me, it gives new meaning to loving my neighbor. Not only should I be treating my neighbor in a loving way, but that now extends to helping him avoid doing wrong. We understand this when we speak of being a parent helping a child to learn right from wrong, but it is a little more difficult when we are talking to our peers. Many a young person has gotten into trouble by going along with the crowd. Maybe their friend is shoplifting, or vandalizing property, and they don’t speak up, or they may even participate. But, do we allow friends to drive drunk? Do we allow ethnic or racial slurs or jokes to go without comment? Would we buy or accept something that we knew was stolen? Do we speak out against injustice? Do we look the other way when we see injustice?
Some put their children in danger by their actions, but do we speak up and either warn them, or offer to help? It is often very hard to know what to do. People have lost their jobs because they spoke out against an employer or supervisor that is doing the wrong thing. There may even be people in our families whose behavior is contrary to God’s law, and possibly illegal. Hopefully, we can convince them to change their behavior before it’s too late.
Let us pray that we will know what to do in whatever circumstances the Lord has placed us.
Father, you gave Ezekiel an important message that we need to pay attention to. Please give us the words we need to help others when we see wrongdoing, and the courage to speak. Amen.
