Right after the description of the fruit of the Spirit we have this short little list of instruction that apply some of the aspects of the fruit. I can easily miss this section because it comes after such a ‘famous’ passage.
Let’s not be conceited
Let’s not provoke each other
Let’s not envy each other
All of these concerns are based on pride. Pride makes me conceited. Pride makes me provoke others so that I can look better. Pride makes me envious. It can be kind of ‘fun’ to get a rise out of someone. It can make us feel better about ourselves. It takes the focus off of us.
Provoking another is childish. Some children just seem to take great joy in getting a response out of another. This is more true that even with the rise of social media. Everybody like a good fight it seems. So much of what I see on Facebook is Christians picking and prodding at each other. That may be a bit of fun for a while, but rarely do we know when to stop and someone always gets hurt.
I played a stupid game with my friends as a young adult. We would ‘discuss’ an issue or ‘debate’ as we liked to call to call it. It seemed like harmless fun but in retrospect I am not so sure. The rule was that if you responded with an insult you lost the debate.
I am not convinced that there is no profit in provoking a brother to anger to the point where he resorts to personal attack.
Our purpose is to edify and build each other up.
Don’t provoke. It wont do any good and only has the potential for harm.
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