1 Thessalonians 4:10
10 And [kai] indeed [gar] ye do [poieo] it [autos] toward [eis] all [pas] the brethren [adelphos] which [ho] are in [en] all [holos] Macedonia: [Makedonia] but [de] we beseech [parakaleo] you, [humas] brethren, [adelphos] that ye increase [perisseuo] more and more; [mallon] KJV-Interlinear
10 for indeed you do practice it
toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to
excel still more, NASB
That you practice it,
means that the Thessalonians (all believers) practice good behavior, as they
know that they should.
In the last verse, the
practice of brotherly love, philadelphia, or being socially responsible,
comes from the daily instruction and learning of Bible doctrine, agapao. Agapao, means the content of the
scriptures.
And while all people
possess some fundamental level of good behavior instincts, there is but one way
of enhancing those behavior traits in ones self. That is through the study of the Bible and
advancing in ones spiritual life.
There is no other means
of enhancing or stabilizing ones personality and behavior.
But being born into
this world is not enough.Being saved by
faith in Christ is not enough.Learning
a little doctrine and thus stabilizing your life to some extent, is not enough.
Paul here states that
you need to increase, in the way you conduct yourself in life. And not only increase, but continue to
increase, more and more throughout your entire life.
There is no upper limit
for learning and for being responsible.
The word for increase, perisseuo, means to superabound. That does not mean to do just a little, or
just enough to get by, but to go the extra mile, to go far above and beyond
that which is generally expected of everyone.
In this respect, you not
only have a great responsibility to God, but you have a great responsibility to
everyone on the planet, as it were.
And even if you do not
have the resources to do business, or charity, or interact socially with
others, you still have the capacity to behave properly, with respect, with
honesty, and with courtesy, thus eliminating all aspects of gossip, criticism,
and such, toward others.
You gain nothing by
holding contempt or disrespect toward others, even if they are indebted to you.
Remember that we are
all indebted to God, for a debt that none of us will ever be able to
repay.Therefore, anything owed us, is
as nothing by comparison.Gods grace and blessing is worth far more than anything
that we could collect from people, in this lifetime.
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