Joy and Fear

(Pro 5:23 KJV)  He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

This is a verse about the importance of witnessing, living and teaching.  The context of the verse is talking in generic terms about the human race but lets apply it in our real world.  There is little I can do about the spiritual condition of the entire human race but I do touch on certain lives.

This would start, of course, with our children.  In that sense it could apply to almost any member of your family that looks to you as an example, but above all our children.  We are to give them “instruction” (4148).  That fits our children perfectly.  It brings to mind another verse from Proverbs,

(Pro 22:6 KJV)  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

But our children are not the only ones who need to be taught.  Others don’t have any law demanding that they listen to us but we have a command that says we are to offer the teachings of God.  Because people don’t want to listen and our example is more powerful than our words this will often be a matter of living out uprightness and integrity in front of them.  This time of manufactured terror over a virus is a glorious time for those of us who trust the Lord.  We can live in joy and without fear in the midst of the raging panic we see.

So?  Live it.  Demonstrate it.  It may keep someone from hell.