Believer Abuse

(Proverbs 15:32 KJV)  He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.

Every year teachers get a review of policies regarding child abuse and its reporting.  One of the categories might be better called “child neglect” although it fits in the general bucket.  This involves when a parent “neglects” (6544a) to provide the proper nutrition or even hygiene for the child.  The sad part of this is that most of the parents I dealt with could have been accused of neglect because they were too busy with their own lives to discipline and control their children.  Of course the state would not see it that way since they are working as hard as they can to get the parents out of the loop.  The point is that ignoring simple everyday procedures is a type of neglect.

Did you “neglect” to brush your teeth?  Did you neglect to wash behind your ears?  These are things which missing once will be no big deal but a pattern can cause serious dangers.  The same is true of our spiritual walks.  There are certain disciplines that are part of the Christian life and are regularly neglected by believers.  Some that come to mind are prayer, meditation, worship, and study. 

So?  Since we are under grace instead of law it is impossible to make some kind of rule about these things.  The problem is that neglect leads gradually to failure of key parts of our walk.  Enough unrepaired breakdowns and eternity becomes a question, not an assurance.