“For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
2 John 11
“Don’t bite the hand that feeds you” is a popular maxim with solid advice. Obviously, gratefulness keeps the supply coming where griping would prevent it. As a proverb, it carries weight speaking of contentment and thankfulness.
But the reverse sentiment is also true. Inasmuch as we ought to appreciate wholesome, nourishing qualities and the sources from which they come, we ought to abstain from encouraging any supply-chain of weakening or detrimental methods or mindsets.
We must be actively
negative;
purposely NOT
support evil.
As our text says: it isn’t enough NOT to teach a flawed doctrine. You must also NOT support a system that propagates a bad doctrine. Not enough to NOT bite the hand that feeds good things- don’t eat from the hand that is feeding you bad things.
A gardener tends his flower beds. He waters and fertilizes the soil for his bouquets. Is it enough? He is not ACTIVELY nourishing weeds, but by failure to have an active NEGATIVE habit (pulling weeds) he is thus cultivating them also. Both the weeds and the tulips grow up- which one will dominate the garden? He that ‘feeds the hand that bites him’ will soon have no flowers left. He must also pull the weeds.
We can’t just expect bad habits to die on their own, by being passively positive. We must be actively negative; purposely NOT support evil tendencies. You’ll never conquer vices by being passive-aggressive toward them. You must intentionally starve them.
If you don’t do it yourself because it’s detrimental to following Christ; isn’t that enough? No. You also have a duty not to cause someone else to stumble.
You say we ought to devote our time on Sunday, the Lord’s Day to worship Him. You never miss a Sunday if you can help it. Fine. Do you go out to eat afterward? Who prepared that meal? Were they able to worship the Lord with their morning? No, I think not.
Will they ever be able to, with a constant demand of ‘Christians’ expecting to be served?
Even closer, you caution your older children, teens, that the world will try to keep them from church. “Don’t take a job that has you work Wednesday!” you counsel. But then a late start or lack of planning send you thru a drive-thru or to a quick stop where some OTHER teen sacrifices their prayer meeting time. What kind of a message is that sending?
Our tendency toward hypocrisy is astounding. We decry ‘Hollywood immorality’ but privately consume their product. We mourn ‘cell phone addiction,’ but excuse our child because ‘we just want to be able to get ahold of them.’ We complain of our government’s affluential debt, then take out payments for a smartphone. We piously denounce late-night taverns that serve alcohol, but they’re ok to eat at during the day- after all, we’re not buying the booze.
STOP FEEDING THE HAND THAT BITES YOU.
I realize this is an hard saying; I don’t profess to know where you should draw the line. But shouldn’t there be a line SOMEWHERE?
Spiritual Reload 