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Do To Others


          So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12)
                When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.  But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself. “Again, when a righteous person turns from their righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before them, they will die. Since you did not warn them, they will die for their sin. The righteous things that person did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the righteous person not to sin and they do not sin, they will surely live because they took warning, and you will have saved yourself.” (Ezekiel 3:18-21)

           If you were in a burning building, would you not want someone to let you know, or even drag you out if you were for some inexplicable reason at that moment unwilling to leave?  
          If you were about to sip a cup of poisoned tea, would you not want me to stop you? 
          If you were too drunk to drive, would it not be wise for me to take your keys and drive you home, so that you didn’t kill yourself, or a carload of teenagers, or a pregnant woman and her toddler?
          I would want you, or someone, to do those things for me. I might not appreciate it at the time because I might not recognize the danger, but someday, I’d thank you for it. 
          So, if someone were to believe that you are in danger of spending eternity in a place they are sure you wouldn’t like (or, even if you might like it, a place that is not good for  you) would they be wrong to do everything they could think of to rescue you from eternity in hell?
          No, I am not suggesting that the ends justify the means, or that there are no holds barred. I don’t believe anyone has the right to make decisions for another person, and I don’t believe in marketing salvation. I don’t offer sales pitches. I’m just pointing out that love sometimes requires that someone be less than accommodating. In fact, the second passage makes it clear that God holds someone responsible if they could have said something to save that life and didn’t.

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