The first time she said it, I was confused. The phrase was totally unfamiliar to me, and it didn’t quite make sense. The second time she said it, I understood the phrase … she’d explained it the time before. The third time, I was smarting from not heeding my mom’s advice. For, against her will, I had forced my way into what I thought was a friendship, but was actually a usership, i.e., I was being used. Even then and thereafter, I didn’t realize that the phrase, ‘don’t run into people’, had biblical undertones.
Consider Today’s Holy Nougat and see what you think.
Colossians 4:5 NIV
[5] Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
Operate with Wisdom
I agree, it’s not entirely saying, ‘Don’t run into people’, but Paul’s call for wisdom as we interact with strangers can not be ignored. My mother’s warming sought to ensure that I remain true to myself while being on guard. Because she knew, not all friendships are friendly. Neither my mother nor Paul, God rest their souls, were telling us to exclude outsiders or newcomers. What they were saying is, Be wise as a serpent, but as harmless as a dove (see Matthew 10:16)
Self-Check
How do we react to outsiders? Do we immediately suspect them, do we marginalise them (othering), or do we rush in to befriend them? Why
Application
I suspect that, like me, your answer will be, it depends. Sometimes, I’m ruled by past prejudices, and I am guilty of othering. And while we are not called to discriminate, wisdom may require that we put distance between us and the stranger, at least initially. Pastor Stephanie Ike-Okafor once recounted a case where she was fully engaged in friendship with someone her mother disapproved of. Later, she learned the hard way that her mother was seeing something that she couldn’t.
In other instances, it may be prudent to be hospitable to the stranger, just like the Samaritan in Luke 10. What this man did counteracted the discriminatory practices of his day. Samaritans and Jews maintained a centuries – old enmity; his natural instinct should be to shun the man, just like the Pharisee and Levite did. He chose compassion to a stranger. Wow
Knowing what to do when with outsiders isn’t always as easy as it sounds. It follows therefore, that Paul had just spoken about prayer. I suspect that Paul was suggesting that wisdom was best gleaned through prayer in any circumstance. And God’s wisdom will guide us on how to best utilise every opportunity that comes our way, even with strangers.
So, the next time we find ourselves in the presence of strangers, let’s seek God’s guidance – as we should with all else.
Point to Ponder
Are there cases that require God’s guidance right now? Time to seek God’s Spirit.
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May all we seek be found in Christ
