Before his conversion, the apostle Paul made havoc of the early church by his unbridled zeal to try and stamp it out (Acts 8:1-3). He was a deeply religious man whose zeal turned to fanaticism in a quest to eliminate what he thought was a false belief system. He was zealous for the traditions of his fathers (Galatians 1:14), but in his misplaced zeal, he actually persecuted the true church of God (Philippians 3:6).
In the third chapter of the book of Revelation, the church of Laodicea was told that it was “wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked” (verse 17). It was bereft of vital qualities that were needed, and it was lukewarm.
Have we fallen at one time or another into either, or both of these traps? Perhaps when we were called, we had so much enthusiasm and somewhat misguided zeal that we tried to convert family, friends and anyone else we could get to listen to our story. And we became upset, at times, when they did not want to accept our “convincing” arguments. But, perhaps after many years in the church, we became lukewarm, having heard it all before and taking our calling much less seriously than we had done when we first came into a knowledge of the truth.
Taking the comparisons a little bit further, we may have had our nose in the Bible at every available opportunity, forsaking everything else and neglecting our responsibilities for our mate and children, but now we may rarely look at the Word of God from one Sabbath to another. Does any of this strike a chord with anyone?
One writer commented that “If you are told someone is ‘a bit zealous,’ it does not convey a totally positive image. Words like enthusiastic, keen, hot headed, lacking wisdom, scary, etc. tend to come to mind!”
We have to avoid being a fanatic because this can send out the wrong signal when we are told to be lights to the world (Matthew 5:14-16). On the other hand, we have to have Godly zeal and enthusiasm for the Way that we have been called to. I remember clearly a minister saying to me some decades ago that “we have to be sold on this Way of life.” That must be reflected in the way that we conduct ourselves at all times.
It’s a fine balance. Do we consistently achieve that in our lives?
