One of the Hardest Parts of Friendship & Love…

In all of our relationships, the hardest part is truth. It’s easy to say things to flatter. But…

The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is just. Psalm 37:30

When words are many, sin is not absent,
but he who holds his tongue is wise. Proverbs 10:19

A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting
vapor and a deadly snare. Proverbs 21:6

He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor
than he who has a flattering tongue. Proverbs 28:21

I am struggling through some hard issues  right now. Ministry is a difficult thing sometimes. We, those who teach and lead, should always share truth. We should always point people toward Jesus, love them as He does, and speak truth to their situation. I don’t believe in watering down God’s Word. I don’t believe that there is anything we face that God’s Word doesn’t speak to. It may not name our issue directly, but it gives us direction through applying truth taught throughout the Word.

I have always believed that even hard truth can be spoken in love. That means that in our relationships, if we have built them on a solid foundation of love, we can feel free to speak hard truth. So having said that…

We have to admit and turn from our sin. It has become so clear that hiding things doesn’t bring happiness or freedom. Whether it is sexual sin like we are dealing with in our Purity study right now or any other sin area, we can’t live like we don’t know or understand that we have to turn away. We can’t ignore the truth to fulfill sinful desires.

When we know what is right, to not do it is sin (James 4:17). It is also apathy and a lack of love for our Savior (John 14:15).

God is sanctifying us and we shouldn’t be resisting that. It isn’t a defeated feeling to me to know that I don’t measure up because I know that God doesn’t want to leave me that way! It is such a freeing thought  that God isn’t pleased with me where I am. He desires to bring me closer to Him and make me more like Him. Isn’t it AWESOME to know that our potential is beyond OUR comprehension?! But in order to change as He is leading, it takes dealing with hard truth. It takes someone loving us enough to confront us with that hard truth. It also takes us loving our friends enough to share those hard truths with them in love.

So, let’s be accountable TO each other and a source of accountability FOR each other!

Don’t ever mistake my heart! Ilove you enough to speak truth to you. I am willing to help you as you struggle with releasing these weaker areas to God. And I am willing to bear your load with you as you become stronger in the Lord. Would you do that for me? For your friends? For your family? For your church staff?

This entry was posted on January 29, 2010 at January 29, 2010 and is filed under Devotion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.