Stirring Things Up

My mom often talks about how tough it was to take my sister and I out in public together when we were young because we always stirred each other up. Even now, when we are together, we tend to be louder and more obnoxious as a duo than we are separately. In a way that is relatively harmless, and at worst slightly annoying to those around us, we “stir each other up.”

Separately, we might think of people that “stir things up” as instigators. My in-laws called my wife “the instigator” growing up because she knew how to press her older brother’s buttons and so often and on purpose. She knew how to frustrate him and make him mad! I would imagine many of us have in one way or another, even as adults, either “stirred” or “been stirred” (or, more likely, both). Especially with people we know well, we know what motivates them, either by encouraging them to be better or stubbornly opposing them in some way to provoke some form of determination from them. While these types of “tactics” can unfortunately be abused and turn into outright manipulation, the Bible not only warns against negative provocation, but demands positive motivation as well.

In Proverbs, we find the language of “stirring things up” multiple times.

·  10:12 – Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

·  15:1 – A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

·  15:8 – A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.

·  28:25 – A greedy man stirs up strife, but the one who trusts in the LORD will be enriched.

·  29:22 – A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression.

Notice how often being “stirred up” is used as a negative! Specifically, we see the idea of stirring up strife emphasized. God ultimately wants peace on earth, and Jesus, also known as “The Prince of Peace,” said that His followers would be peacemakers (Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 5:9). While there are certainly times that we should and must disagree with people, oppose sin, and there may be unavoidable drama in our lives, we as much as we are able, should live peaceably with all (Romans 12:18). Solomon mentions multiple time the wisdom in neutralizing conflict rather than inflaming it. It is safe to say all of us likely know someone who seemingly makes every situation worse with their temper—almost like superheroes with super strength in the comics who break everything they touch. If we are the type of people who easily get stirred up, we need to be extremely cautious that we do not fall into sin because our temper got the better of us.

On a positive note, the author of Hebrews demands that Christians be stirring one another up “to love and good deeds.” This too is a type of animation and motivation we can understand on a practical level. Hopefully, when we see something that needs to be fixed or taken care of, we are “stirred up” to be the one to find a solution or some other way to serve. The author of Hebrews goes on to remind his audience of the importance of spending time with the local body, i.e. “meeting together,” not only in the organized worship assembly but by implication perhaps, spending time together outside the assembly as well (as described in Acts 2:42-47, for example). When we assemble together to worship God as brothers and sisters in Christ, there is motivation and encouragement found there that is not found anywhere else. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we all realized how disheartening isolation could be, and yet at times God’s people may still avoid contact with like-minded brethren. This dynamic speaks directly to the point of the author of Hebrews’ words here: as God said before creating Eve, “it is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18).

Finally, in Hebrews 10:24, the author of Hebrews implies that part of our fundamental motivation for “stirring each other up to love and good deeds,” is the fact that there is a “Day drawing near” where each of us will be called to give an account of what we have done in this life. Matthew 24:36, 42, and 44 read:  “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only…Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming…Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

Jesus makes abundantly clear that He is coming back and when He does, He expects His children to be ready. In the meantime, as we wait, we must avoid stirring up strife and hatred, and stir each other up positively, encouraging each other to hold on to the hope of Heaven and live in a way that is pleasing to the Father, as we see the Day drawing near.

May we forever continue to stay stirred up, and never settle.