Articles
Am I Being A Good Sibling?
As the oldest in my family, I was held responsible for my younger siblings’ actions. There
were times I would be put in charge. There were times I just happened to be with them when
they got in trouble or hurt. Suddenly, it was my responsibility. I should have been watching
them, I should have warned them, I was the one who should have known better. I should have
known not to grab the rope swing and jump off the shed in the back yard.
Israel was told to warn, speak out, and to dissuade those who are wicked from their evil
ways (Ezekiel 3:18,19; Ezekiel 33:8,9).
God also focuses on the erring righteous. “Again, when a righteous person turns from their
righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did
not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be
remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the righteous
person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you
will have saved yourself” (Ezekiel 3:20,21).
For me this week, the key words are found at the end of verses 19 and 21, “and you will
have saved yourself.” Not that we will have helped save the other person. No, the emphasis is
placed on the fact that our own soul will now be saved because we at least tried to warn and
teach the person the right way. When I was a child, there were times when I would warn my
siblings and try to explain the rules, but they chose to ignore me. When it came time for
punishments to be handed out my parents took that into account. If I could honestly say I had
tried and told them not to do it, but they went ahead and did it anyway, then usually my parents
would let me off the hook and focus on the erring sibling. Are we going to be able to say I tried, I
really tried, when we stand before God on judgement day? ~ Brad Tolbert
