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Being Vigilant Is Not Easy

by Dr. Henderson Ward  
11/04/2014 / Christian Living

I know of situations when, because I was not as vigilant as I should have been, I endangered my life, and I managed to escape harm because of my good fortune.

Most people would be able to recall similar situations in their lives, and would credit their escape to luck, destiny, God's mercy or something of that sort.

To some people, just one lapse of vigilance has proven deadly.

The truth is that being vigilant can be quite difficult. Life has a way of providing so many distractions, challenges and disguises that to falter in our vigilance becomes ever more probable.

The Bible is aware that believers are prone to these lapses of spiritual vigilance, and the danger involved in doing so, and took time to give us timely warning.

Just twice is the word "vigilant" used in the Bible; once it is aimed at the leadership of the church and once it is directed at its membership.

Here is the first mention of the word "vigilant", where the Apostle Paul is listing the qualifications of an elder or bishop:

"A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, VIGILANT, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach." (1 Timothy 3:2)

Without doubt, Paul was using the word "vigilant" here in the sense of a custodian, or a watchman, in similar manner to when he told the leaders in Asia Minor, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock." (Acts 20:28-29)

The second and final time the word "vigilant" is used, is in connection to the ordinary church member, and Peter admonishes:

"Be sober, be VIGILANT; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

In truth, both Peter and Paul were alerting the church that grave dangers lay all around and only by the most astute diligence can we guard against them.

You see, it is more than likely that the average Christian will guard well against major sins, or those things that mightily offend people of God. Satan knows this, and because he is clever, his temptations are not to pester you just, or even chiefly, with these major sins.

No, he is more subtle and prefers to slay you by dragging you into the grey areas, the smoky situations, the realm of nuances and innuendo; where things are not so clear-cut, and you are not 100% sure what is wrong or right.

This is where you have to be very vigilant, and combative, for the good of your soul.

You are not going to be greatly tempted to rob a bank; for clearly that would be stealing. But what if the "fool" walking in front of you drops his wallet, and only this same morning you found out that you were penniless and asked God for help. Is that juicy wallet, now at your feet, an answer to prayer or plain theft? Does finders keepers apply here?

This is one of the reasons the devil is so dangerous. You can be doing evil, but because it lends itself to being rationalised and excused you feel no unease, and yet it can be just as evil as any major sin.

Believers who gamble are faced with this dilemma because they rationalise that they are spending only a few cents, so what is the harm? I have written an article published here on faithwriters.com (DON'T BE FOOLED BY GAMBLING; IT'S FRIGHTFULLY EVIL) and you can check it out for yourself and see the evils of gambling.

Being vigilant is not easy, because they are many little things, things that do not seem to be that important, but they have a damning effect on the soul and our spirituality.

I have known some believers who think nothing of:

1. Dating, and marrying, unsaved people
2. Tolerating obscene language
3. Telling "white" lies
4. Providing misinformation in order to get employment
5. Filling out misleading tax returns to save money
6. Watching horror films that degrades/dishonour/mocks God
7. Eating their food without saying grace because they don't want to offend anyone
8. Laughing at dirty jokes; because others are laughing
9. Watching Hollywood films that they know are offensive

It is not that believers do not feel guilty doing some of the above, and other similar things, it is that they feel these things are so minor as to make no difference to their walk with God.

But in this they err, because spirituality, like daylight, can fade away gradually; until you wake up one morning and its gone. Your conscience has been so abused, for such a long time, that it fails to respond, and prick you, because you have drifted from being in Christ, to being in the world.

That is why believers have need of vigilance, daily, prayerfully and always under the umbrella of the Holy Spirit. And if a slip should occur, and as humans these slip-ups happen sometimes, then the immediate urge should be to honestly seek restoration and more grace. Micah puts it well, "I have fallen, but enemy, don't laugh at me! I will get up again. I sit in darkness now, but the LORD will be a light for me." (Micah 7:8 Easy-to-Read Version)

Being vigilant is not easy, but by God's grace we can make sure that the little foxes do not spoil our tender vines. (Song of Solomon 2:15)

Enough said.

Books by this author (non-fiction except indicated otherwise)

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Dr. Henderson Ward received his Doctor of Divinity in theology, with distinction, from Masters International School of Divinity, USA, where he is currently a post-doctoral fellow. Dr. Ward's career involved pastoring, evangelism, and teaching. Copyright 2017

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