Shouldn’t the generosity, initiative, and boldness of others challenge my heart toward generosity, initiative, and boldness? The word used many times in the New Testament is provoke.
Many times, we use provoke in a negative sense. A nerve. A fight. A reaction. Whether the provoker or the provoked, it hits a raw nerve. And I have to do or say something. Now. Most often, my response is ill-tempered, ill-conceived, and ill-effected. To the degree that I believe I have been provoked, I will act—or more often, react—in kind.
But what if we provoke the way God intended us to?
We are exhorted to provoke one another to good works. A responsibility rests squarely on my shoulders to engage others in obedient action to God’s Word. I saw your example or was its beneficiary, and I must do something. Now. To the degree that I understand what you did, I must immediately act. Further, it demands that I joyfully accept the godly provocations of others.
This is what Paul was doing in II Corinthians chapter 8. Citing distant churches in dire straits, Paul provokes the believers in Corinth to fulfill their promise and prove their love towards others. While compelling, he does not fail to point them to the ultimate example of provoking: Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. He already advised these same believers that His love “constraineth” us. It compels, forces, or binds us to action with irresistible power. We are provoked because of His selfless and sufficient example at Calvary. Failing to grasp that, we are often cast into a careless state of smug indolence. Treating our amnesia cures our anemia.
Perhaps our church today suffers from not so much an apathy towards action as it does an antipathy towards provocation. We don’t want to start anything. Perhaps, because we haven’t started anything to begin with?