Neglect

         There are some times when you don't want to “neglect” something that is important. The word is only used about 5 times in the New Testament and has the meaning of not regarding something or ignoring something that should be considered to be important. I knew a man in Spain that attended our classes on the New Testament. This individual had been a missionary for a large church but had never studied the Bible. One would think that a person who is going to be a missionary would have a basic Bible background, but he had never even studied New Testament survey. At that point in his life, he was hungry for the scriptures. It is hard for us to understand why some people neglect that which is foundational in their lives. Another example of neglect was a young lady who had driven a car for over 300 miles with the “check engine” light on. She “neglected” the light and had in fact put a band-aid over the light so as to not be bothered by the yellow symbol on her dashboard. I had two warning signs of an impending heart attack, but ignored them because I didn't know what was happening, nor did I tell anyone else about the signs. There are somethings you just don't want to neglect. Hebrews 2:3 says, " How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;”

        The Book of Hebrews is filled with many profound statements and this is one of them. We can think about the greatness of salvation but one of the things that comes to my mind today is that people “neglect” the salvation that is right before them. The statement is a rhetorical question. The point is, that there is no escape when we neglect this great salvation. We can think about the statement, ponder the statement, disregard the statement and go our own way and end up missing salvation. When certain conditions are neglected there are going to be results that you may not desire. To put it another way, “if you neglect this great salvation, there will be no escaping the consequences. To put a band-aid on a warning light will have its consequences for sure. Our problems with neglect often begin with having no regard for the Word of God. The Bible has become merely a book of moral platitudes to many and they have neglected knowing and applying the Bible to their lives. A missionary needs to have a solid background of the Word of God. A preacher needs to know the Bible from cover to cover. If you neglect brushing your teeth, you will soon have dental problems that won't be very enjoyable at all. If you neglect checking the oil in your car, you will have mechanical problems with your engine. If you neglect greasing an axle, your wheel will freeze up and eventually fall off. If you neglect this great salvation, you will end up in an eternity without God. It is just as the verse says, there is no escaping it. The message of salvation was clearly taught by the Lord Jesus Christ and it has been passed on to us by those who heard Him. We have the words of the the Lord Himself and their words but we may still simply neglect what they say. Praise God today that he has clearly given us His Word. May we not neglect, or disregard, what it says.