Don’t Do That

09.17.11

Revelation 22.9 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!” NIV

Most parents know the phrase. Many parents have said it to their children all throughout their little lives. I remember going into a public restroom once with one of my toddler kids only to see him to make a beeline for the urinal and place his precious little hands on it… I almost had a heart-attack! Don’t do that! I exclaimed in a voice that scared him. He knew he’d trespassed and dad was serious. I scared him and I think I hurt his little feelings. I don’t think he ever did that again. In retrospect I think I over-reacted, but I never had to say that to him again.

I thought about the inflection in the voice of the angel who said to John: Don’t do that! I think it was along the lines of DON’T DO THAT!!!!!!!!!!!! Obviously, John caught up in the moment, made a beeline for a response and did something that the angel knew he shouldn’t ever do: John took his eyes off God. The exclamation point is there for our edification and exhortation: don’t (ever) do that! Something in me makes me think John might’ve been rattled back into reality during this exchange. Hurt feelings or not, I don’t think he ever did it again.

The angel, I suspect, had witnessed the fall of Satan and knew full well the consequences of taking one’s eyes off of God. The angel I suspect witnessed the fall of man and saw the agony of the Godhead when man chose to exchange the glory of God for his own. The angel, faithful to what he knew, came to John’s aid by slapping him upside the head: Don’t do that!

Recently, a friend of mine came alongside me and (figuratively) slapped me upside the head. He actually said in the course of the conversation: Don’t do that! He went on to say, “Don’t even entertain thoughts like that!” I was rebuked but he made his point and it made its mark. He is still my friend and I value his advice even more – he helped me when I needed help. Encouragement needs to be effective because the bottom line in encouragement is love; and sometimes love must be tough, abrupt, and even to the point of a stern rebuke.

The other inflection I heard in the angel’s voice was: worship GOD! It wasn’t angry but it was way emphatic – worship GOD – for crying out loud man, have you completely missed the point!?

In John 14 Jesus and Philip had this exchange: Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?” (John 14.8-10 NIV) Jesus was slapping Philip upside the head…

For me my toughest battles are fought in my mind where thoughts assault me to just give up, give in, and cave in on my faith. (Paul, don’t do that!) Thoughts can be very convincing because they are based on – among other things – our circumstances; and often when circumstances go south, so do our thoughts. (Friends, don’t do that!) The toughest refining comes only when we go through the fire but the result is we will come out on the other side unscathed and worshiping God! But we need to be vulnerable enough to admit our needs to one another – and to slap each other upside the head when necessary – true love, true faith, true worship.