Neglect

 May 4, 2022

Whether one is shooting deer or basketballs, the principle is the same: a small error at the outset of a shot can mean missing the target altogether. This principle is true in life, too. Hebrews 2:1, 3 warns, “we must give the more earnest heed…lest we drift away…fro how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”

I don’t think I am in much danger of rejecting the Gospel, but every day, I face the danger of neglecting it, which neglect has perilous consequences. Prayerlessness, distractions, pride, carelessness are all continually making war with my spirit and must be continually resisted. I don’t think I am alone when I say I am inherently lazy, and will take the easy path if given the choice. It is easier to drift than to stay on target. The latter requires discipline, focus, determination. As someone once said, “Even a dead fish can go downstream.”

In the next chapter, the writer encourages us to “exhort one another daily…lest you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (3:13). That word “daily” challenges me. With their daily gatherings for prayer, the monastics take these words much more seriously than do most of us. We have somehow come to the place where we think once a week is enough, and even that is becoming less and less common. Worship and fellowship are what we do when it’s convenient; when something “better” hasn’t come along, and even when we gather, there is little actual accountability and exhortation. 

The danger is real. Sin’s deceitfulness hardens us. It dulls the senses to the Spirit, and isolates us from each other by wrapping us in shame and guilt. Remaining tender to God is critical, and is best done in the context of people we know and trust so well that we are unashamed to bare our souls. That is only possible when we gather often enough to build trust. A hard heart is a dying heart; we need the exhortation to keep us humble and sensitive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. May we welcome those who challenge and encourage us to stay alert and sharp, lest we neglect our great salvation.