Articles
"Don't Talk to Me"
When a person is facing rebuke, it is easy to develop an attitude of wanting people to not talk to them. Some people will come right out and tell others, “Don’t talk to me.” Other people may inwardly resent the fact others are talking to them about a problem in their life. What does the Bible teach about the attitude of “Don’t talk to me” especially when people are trying to talk to us about our sins?
The Bible teaches there are times when we must talk to a person about their sins whether they want to hear it or not. God sends the prophet Ezekiel to teach the children of Israel but they would not want to hear God’s message to them. God in fact tells Ezekiel, “I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse - for they are a rebellious house - yet they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house. You shall speak My words to them, whether they hear or whether they refuse, for they are rebellious” (Ezekiel 2:3-7, NKJV). Paul told Timothy he would need to preach God’s word “in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2, NKJV). Preaching God’s word out of season would refer to preaching the word of God when people do not want to hear it. We need to be careful we do not back down from preaching the word of God just because some people don’t want to hear it. Remember the apostles were commanded not to preach in the name of Jesus any longer and yet they continued to preach and teach the word (Acts 4:18-20; 5:27-29).
There may be a time where after we have made an effort to teach a person and they continue to be resistant it is time to move on to other individuals and not continue to waste time with someone who is unreceptive. Jesus sent the apostles out to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and instructed them, “But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet” (Matthew 10:14-15, NKJV). The apostles throughout the book of Acts continue to practice something very similar on occasions. Paul and Barnabas in Antioch will tell the Jews who are opposing them and blaspheming that they will turn from them and instead teach the Gentiles (Acts 13:45-47). When Paul was at Corinth, Paul, “shook his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles’” (Acts 18:6, NKJV). There is a time when we have put forth effort to reach a person and they refuse our efforts that we need to simply admit they are unreceptive to the truth and move on to others who might be more receptive. It is likely this is the meaning of Jesus’ statements about not casting pearls before swine or giving what is holy to dogs (Matthew 7:6).
The Bible condemns a person who rejects godly correction. James 1:19-20 teaches us to be “swift to hear” (NKJV). A person who has the attitude of “don’t talk to me” certainly is not being swift to hear. Proverbs 12:1 states, “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid” (NKJV). Do we love instruction or do we hate correction? Hopefully we appreciate it when someone gives us instruction rather than hating correction when it comes our way. Proverbs 9:7-9 talks about how a scoffer hates the person who corrects him but the wise man loves the one who corrects him. Which person are we like? A wise man benefits from correction and becomes wiser. Do we become wiser when someone comes to us with instruction? Receiving correction may not always be pleasant at the moment but instead of despising such correction let’s be people who benefit from it so we can grow spiritually as we ought (Hebrews 12:5-11).
