Are you a watchman?

If you would test the character of anything, you only need to enquire whether that thing leads you to God or away from God. (Watchman Nee)

Whenever I bring enemy soldiers to fight against a country, the people choose someone to be a watchman. If this guard sees enemy soldiers coming, he blows the trumpet and warns the people. If people hear the warning but ignore it, the enemy will capture them and take them away as prisoners. They will be responsible for their own death. They heard the trumpet, but they ignored the warning. So they are responsible for their own deaths. If they had paid attention to the warning, they could have saved their own lives. (Ezekial 33:2-5)

Most believers wouldn't think of themselves as 'watchmen' in the sense of being chosen to guard against enemy intrusion, but nothing could be further from the truth. We are all called to be 'watchers' - eyes attentive to what is happening around us, minds open to hearing from God, and hearts willing to put it all out there in order to see people redeemed, made whole and able to resist the attack of the enemy themselves. What are we 'watching' for? Nee said it well - does the thing we are observing lead us closer to God and his grace, or does it pull us away, further and further from his grace and love? If the latter is the case, it is time to sound the alarm!

We are called to pay attention to the 'character' of a matter or a person. We aren't judging individuals or circumstances by our own standards, but in accordance with what is revealed in the Word of God. Does it align with the Word? If not, don't move toward it, but reject it. Does it reflect the character and wisdom of God as revealed in scripture? It takes more than a cursory knowledge of the Word of God to know this, so the more acquainted we become with what he reveals about his character through our times with him in his Word, the better equipped we will be to make this 'judgment'. Does it make us desire more of this world's offerings, or does it lead us into contentment with what God has already abundantly blessed us with? If the latter is true, embrace it!

The watchman plays a very important role - he warns against danger, but he also welcomes that which 'belongs' amongst God's people. We aren't called to look at the charisma of a man, but his character. We all have 'qualities', but we also all have 'quirks'. Do the qualities outweigh the quirks? A quirk is more than just a peculiarity of action or thought - it is the 'shift' or 'evasion' of that which draws us closer to God or leads us further into the selfishness of our own fleshly desires. God is working on our quirks if we are following closely after him, but one who is given to being led by his quirks is not someone we should follow or even let into our 'camp'. The watchman will be able to warn others who may not be on guard against welcoming such an individual. Just sayin!