“Don’t, but Do”
February 4, 2023
How many times a day do you give or receive commands, positive and affirmative?
Please pass me the salt.
Be careful.
Have a seat.
Call me.
Don’t bother.
Don’t worry.
Quite often, right? It is because of this frequency, that my high school Spanish teacher thought it was an essential task to know how to form both negative and affirmative commands in Spanish. It was her contention that mastering Spanish commands would enable her students to not only survive in a Spanish-speaking environment, but thrive!
Understanding negative commands was also important to Solomon as he gave several such commands in Proverbs 22. It must have been his contention that in order to live wisely in an all too often foolish world, we must heed the negative commands of God’s Word.
4 Do not toil to acquire wealth;
6 Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;
9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,
22 Listen to your father who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
While affirmative commands may be preferred over negative ones, God is protecting our lives, and the pathways we may choose to take, by giving us negative commands at times. He also gives us the reasoning behind His “do not commands”. For example, God explains the reasoning behind Proverbs 23:9a, “Do not speak in the hearing of fools.” The fool “will despise the good sense of your words.” (Proverbs 23:9b) The fool will not receive or appreciate the wisdom of words given by a wise person.
So next time we may be tempted to recoil from negative commands, whether in Spanish class or not, we would be wise to remember that God’s Word, in all of its negative and affirmative commands, is training in wisdom and a shield of protection for us. Don’t (“no” in Spanish) reject God’s commands, but do (“hacer” in Spanish) accept His instruction.
“Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.” Proverbs 19:20