 | Blogs > reallysaved > From Where I Sit > Speaking the Truth in Love. |
6/10/2006 7:06 pm Last Read: |
The Word tells us to speak the Truth in love. Sometimes that means saying hard things. Dr. James Dobson says in his book, a Christian classic, Love Must Be Tough, that sometimes loving someone is telling them something that they don't want to hear. Loving someone is not saying something to them because that is what they want to hear. It is telling them the truth. In love, to me, means that you say whatever you have to say, even the hard things, with compassion, understanding and humility. I have heard many people here at Big Church say or imply that we should not ever say anything negative to another person. I say that is a bunch of baloney! Loving people means sometimes saying things that they don't want to hear. I personally have had people say negative things to me that I really needed to hear. If they hadn't had the strength to tell me, I would not have changed some very bad behaviors or I would have gone down a very bad path in my life. Jesus said some very negative things to people in the Word as did Paul. The things they said were said in love, though. They were meant to build up and better someone, not tear down or destroy them. I think there is a very dangerous teaching in the church now-a-days. It says that we should be tolerant of everyone no matter what their lifestyle, what they say or what they do. This is a scheme of Satan, and it pains me to see good Christian people buying into this false teaching. If something does not line up with the Bible, we are to reject it. We are to warn the person doing or saying the wrong, not because we are better than they are but because we love them. Tolerance is what will allow the Antichrist to take over the world. It has already allowed New Age and Cult teachings to enter into the church. If we don't adhere to what the Bible says, we will be deceived. It is that simple. I pray that no one here at Big Church allows that to happen to them. |
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6/11/2006 1:11 am |
So true  No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 1 Cor. 2: 7
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6/11/2006 5:02 pm |
I absolutely agree with Elizabeth (Rebekka). Jean, you are 100% correct in that we are to speak the truth in love, and sometimes things need to be said to people who don't want to hear them. Now...refering to that last sentence, I started to write it like this, "...sometimes we need to say things to people who don't want to hear them." Notice how I re-phrased it. Here's the thing I'd like to offer to ANYONE on BC (and I try to follow this myself): Check YOUR motives! Are YOU trying to be Holy Ghost, Jr.? Are YOU trying to do things out of passion, zealousness for the Word/Truth, out of a gifting or calling whereby you are often "in someone's face?" Do YOU feel a kind of compunction to SET EVERYONE STRAIGHT...and then proceed to attempt to do so, sometimes out of a reaction rather than a true prompting of the Lord? Keep in mind the first sentence I made that here on BC it is incredibly difficult to convey things like softness, true humility, gentleness, and kindness and LOVE. I think ANYTIME someone needs "correcting" whoever feels the need to correct them should first step back, pray and make sure they aren't voicing things out of their own soul. There's also the issue of timing. If you feel compelled to "straighten someone out" I have to ask: have you even prayed for that person to be prepared to HEAR you? Have you asked the Lord for His wisdom and truly committed yourself and the situation to Him, trusting HIM to handle it...maybe through someone other than yourself--someone that perhaps could say things to that individual in a voice-tone or in a way that they would actually hear rather than blow off? If you can't say yes to all of the above, then...hmmm...can you honestly say you are then speaking the truth in love? I'm not here to judge or condemn anyone, but I'd like to publicly say that I'm very disappointed in a lot of the dialogue that is taking place here on BC. James 3:17-18 (in the Amplified) says, "But the wisdom from above is first of all pure; then it is peace-loving, courteous (considerate, gentle). It is willing to yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits; it is wholehearted and straightforward...and the harvest of righteousness is the fruit of the seed sown in peace by those who work for and make peace in themselves and in others, that is, that peace which means concord (agreement, harmony) between individuals, with undistrubedness, in a peaceful mind..." Elizabeth, you asked how we find a happy medium here? I doubt we'll be able to, honestly, as long as people have a flesh, and, unfortunately, we all have one of those! (grin) But what I pray all of us will do is make sure we are allowing the LORD to do the correcting and it's not our personal agenda. Then, if we DO feel it is of the Lord to speak the truth into a situation, that at the very least, we lay hold of the scripture I just shared and make sure our motives are pure, we are at peace in ourselves, AND we are attempting to bring peace into the situation, as well. I mean...if you really feel the other person won't "hear" you, then I have to ask, why bother saying it in the first place? Just my thoughts.
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6/11/2006 6:45 pm |
I don't know if this makes any difference or not, but for whatever it's worth, when I wrote what I did above, BeastMaster's comment had not yet been "published". In other words, it looks like I posted my comment AFTER him, but in reality, we must have added our respective comments at almost exactly the same time and his happened to "post" ahead of me. I guess I just keep thinking, "Is all this actually accomplishing anything...or is it just stiring up strife, discord, and contention?" Always..there's a time and a place...and I just question if this is THE PLACE, you know? (smile) Peace to you, Jean, BeastMaster, and everyone who reads this.
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