"Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life, therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the LORD." (Eze 13:22-23)Two errors are in view here. First, there is the disheartening of the righteous. Second, there is the encouraging of the wicked.
On the first, we're well aware of that one these days. You might hear (although it may be somewhat archaic) someone referred to as "goody two-shoes". It refers to someone who is being moral ... and insulted. It is a reference not to someone who is hypocritical. Nor is it a reference to someone who is of questionable morality--that is, someone who thinks "X" is moral but we're not sure it is. No, we're all pretty sure that the morality of this person is high; we just don't like it. It is meant to dishearten the righteous. To those of you who are harassed for trying to follow God's Word I say, "As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good." (2 Thess 3:13)
The second is quite interesting to me. Oh, sure, we understand it's not good to encourage the wicked. And most of us are aware that it's in vogue in our culture today. But that's not interesting. What's interesting is God's concern in the matter. It's not that wickedness was encouraged, but that the wicked "should not turn from his evil way to save his life." The concern is for the wicked, not against wickedness. To the wicked Jesus said, "Repent." (Matt 4:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 13:3,5)
I wish I knew how to get that across better. Because that's my concern. It's not making the sexually immoral more sexually moral. It's not making the homosexual heterosexual. It's not making anyone conform to my sense of morality. It's the welfare of the wicked (where "wicked" is defined by God). It is the concern for eternity. It is the concern for the consequences of sin. It is concern, also, for the glory of God. I don't get extra points for making people behave better. But I am concerned about the well-being of others, and that well-being must first be defined by the Creator that made us. That they should turn from evil and save their lives is a good thing. Not for me; for them. For God.
But, of course, that won't be coming across any time soon. It's always there, at least for me. It's always in mind; at least my mind. But those intent on discouraging the righteous and those intent on encouraging the wicked will only hear "judgmentalism", "intolerance", and "self-righteous bigot". Even God appears to have some difficulty in getting that truth across. I guess I'm not alone in that.
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