What does it mean to be your brother’s keeper or your sister’s keeper? The word “keep” is synonymous with preserve. The ways of love are meant to preserve us all, and GOD is love. The ways of GOD are referred to in scripture as a holy salt because historically salt has been used as a preservative. Today salt is still used heavily in our foods as a preservative to extend shelf life. Salt creates an environment resistant to the elements of decay. Those who walk in the ways of GOD are referred to as the salt of the earth because as they communicate the ways of GOD in word and in deed, they promote life in the earth and retard the elements of death. Those who love the Lord pack their hearts with the salt of His word to preserve His ways in their life.
The promise of GOD is that He will preserve those who love Him and trust in Him. One of the ways He fulfills this promise is by putting His love in our hearts for one another. This love motivates us to do what we can to preserve one another. One of the simplest and most effective ways we preserve one another is by sharing our salt, His word.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Col 3:16 KJV)
Communing with the people of GOD facilitates the working of His promise to keep and preserve us in the earth. If we truly love Him, then we also love His people. To leverage this blessing of preservation we have to resist the foolishness of pride and remain humble. Without humility, it is difficult if not impossible to receive wisdom and instruction from others and a prideful heart will seldom reverberate with spiritual songs. We are not meant to live unto ourselves. Christ has given us the analogy of us being His body, so that we can understand our dependence on Him as our head, as well as our interdependence on each other as one functioning organism. This is also why GOD commands us to love one another as our own selves. When we don’t, we hurt others as well as our selves.
Selfish pride is one of the most detrimental characteristics of sinful man. There are many warnings in holy scripture of GOD’s intolerance for the prideful. The holy scripture teaches us that GOD resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. So, pride repels Life and summons death. Pause and think about that. Abase yourself and be purged from prideful ways. Stay in the word of GOD, so that the word of GOD can stay in you, and then your life will be a sweet savor unto GOD and a blessing to those around you.
theinscribedheart 
Reblogged this on Cheruiyot's Blog.