Galatians 4:17-18 | Focused Zeal

Those people are zealous for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. Nevertheless, it is good to be zealous if it serves a noble purpose—at any time, and not only when I am with you.
-Galatians 4:17-18 BSB

Zeal is defined as, "great energy, enthusiasm, and intense devotion in pursuit of a cause, ideal, or activity." In our modern day, we don't see a whole lot of zeal. We see a lot of passivity and comfortability. Ambition and zeal tends to be those things that set people apart. It is one thing to have someone be faithful with going to church every Sunday. It is another thing to throw away one's TV in order to ensure more time spent with the Lord. One is a practiced routine whereas the other is a zealous endeavor.

Due to the lack of zeal in our culture, the weight of it often leaves an impact on us. When we witness zeal, we can often become spurred on and encouraged by it. It can direct us and move us. It can sometimes serve as an engine that pushes us through one season and into another. But zeal is simply a tool.

The church in Galatia had an experience with zealous people. These were those that were leading them astray. They were not passive about it. They were active and energetic about it. They zealously pursued these doctrines in the congregation, but they sought to use that zeal to isolate them from true doctrine. These evil workers wanted the church in Galatia to be zealous for them. This very thing, Paul speaks against.

Interestingly, Paul does not squash zeal all together. He recognized that zeal is good. He is looking upon the zeal of those who pursued the flock and using them as an example of zeal, sharing with the Galatians that it is good to be zealous for noble purposes. It is this balance that I want to address.

I am sure we are all familiar with the phrase, "You don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater." It is a suitable phrase for this teaching. Zeal can scare people. In a culture that elevates passivity, passion can look angry. Zeal can look mean. Perhaps you have even come across a zealous believer and that believer, in his or her zeal for the Lord, did or said something that offended you. I have seen many young believers have their zeal cut down. And it is a shame. It has historically been the most zealous believers for the Lord that have shaped church history and impacted the culture. What Paul teaches us here is that zeal needs to be cultivated. It needs to be directed. It needs to be focused.

Consider your own life. Are you zealous for the Lord and for good works? If you are not, how can that be cultivated? And importantly, how can you, while maintaining zeal, speak the truth in love?