roasted for a reasonable warning
My buddy Bill is being attacked for a warning that he posted for his friends/family. Bill had the sheer audacity to say that something that he had listened to had some seriously foul content and to warn the rest of us against wasting our time listening to it. Now I call that a reasonable warning to post for your friends and family, certainly nothing that would be considered ‘hate’.
It seems that the author of this program got wind of Bill’s warning to his friends and family and really ripped into him on the most recent version of his show (link to Bill’s follow-up). I took the time to listen to the segment that Bill edited to bleep out the coarse language. Even without the swearing it is very easy to understand that, to put it mildly, this gentleman does not appreciate Bill’s warning of his friends away from this show.
Here is what the problem boils down to. The world hates discernment. When anyone shows discernment and is willing to warn their friends and family about something, it is a major irritation to the one who knows that what he is doing is wrong. In fact, even in the church when someone ‘dares’ to show discernment about something and then go to their brother or sister in Christ and say that what they are doing is wrong, they will get blasted for “not being loving” or “being nosey”.
There are two passages that come to mind when I think about this subject: Eph 5:15-16 “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, (16) making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” and Hebrews 5:14 “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” Scripture calls for us to be wise and know scripture well enough that we are able to discern between good and evil.
Nobody would have gotten mad at Bill for being discerning on his own and just not listening to that show anymore. However, when he was willing to warn his friends and family about something that he had been discerning about and that is when he put himself in the crosshairs. We are called to be more than just discerning in our own lives, but to share that wisdom with others. Certainly there are times when we need to confront a brother or sister in Christ and tell them that what they are participating in is wrong, but many other times, it just means being willing to share the discernment that the Lord has given us and be willing to accept the consequences of our actions.
Good work Bill, keep it up!