Speaking the Truth in Love
One of the most difficult things I have had to do over the years is to try to speak the truth to a fellow believers, so he or she will grow in the Lord. (Ephesians 4:11-16) There is no doubt that God corrects us when we are in need of correction, and He wants us to do the same thing for each other. However, it is a very sensitive process.
In fact, no matter how loving I try to be most of the time the process fails. Instead of helping the other believers, they get angry, and they do not want to be around me any more. That makes me sad and reluctant to do it again. However, since I know the Bible, and I know God gives me that responsibility, I do it again. I do it out of love, and I do it with the utmost concern for the welfare of the other person. That is all I can do.
I think my difficulty in this area of ministry is caused by several conditions of the human heart, not the least of which is pride. I do think there is another reason that is just as basic. Many believers do not want to grow. They want to be comfortable. Anything that makes them uncomfortable causes them great distress, and they run from it. That is true even of a loving friend, who just wants to help. This is a serious problem for us as Christians. We need the objective input of loving friends to really grow in Christ. I hope we will all ask the Lord to help us receive the truth well when it is given to us in love. Also, I hope we will all pray that we will know when and how God wants us to share the truth in love. We must not be deterred by our negative experiences. We must obey God's Word.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 21-22 and Matthew 19.
In fact, no matter how loving I try to be most of the time the process fails. Instead of helping the other believers, they get angry, and they do not want to be around me any more. That makes me sad and reluctant to do it again. However, since I know the Bible, and I know God gives me that responsibility, I do it again. I do it out of love, and I do it with the utmost concern for the welfare of the other person. That is all I can do.
I think my difficulty in this area of ministry is caused by several conditions of the human heart, not the least of which is pride. I do think there is another reason that is just as basic. Many believers do not want to grow. They want to be comfortable. Anything that makes them uncomfortable causes them great distress, and they run from it. That is true even of a loving friend, who just wants to help. This is a serious problem for us as Christians. We need the objective input of loving friends to really grow in Christ. I hope we will all ask the Lord to help us receive the truth well when it is given to us in love. Also, I hope we will all pray that we will know when and how God wants us to share the truth in love. We must not be deterred by our negative experiences. We must obey God's Word.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 21-22 and Matthew 19.