Life is wonderful. It is fantastic. And, it is often found to be overwhelming.
It seems a trait is strongly developed in society which is affecting all of us negatively. I point to it should we be able to join forces in making, what I believe to be, a necessary adjustment.
I speak of correction. Whether personal or painful or both, mankind basically does not stand for being corrected. We have too many options which calls for our flight. We don't have to take words that challenge or critique.
The pendulum has surely swung. No one wants to receive hurtful words lambasting from squint-eyed loud-mouthed individuals who beat us with their accusations and their fierce anger. No one wants to endure one more tongue-lashing.
Yet, what has happened in fighting off the uncontrolled monsters is that we, completely unaware, have built a resistance. We will not tolerate being corrected.
II Timothy 4:2 urges us to preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. This passage is one of the first that I memorized and I took off like a rocket. I had the reprove, rebuke, and exhort locked in. Seldom noticed was the with great patience and instruction.
A colleague sat in my office yesterday and told me that there is a thing that I say that is damaging to the church. While half of my statements had been true, I was causing a huge and misunderstood gap in our church. I just hadn't thought of it.
We are living a life where we are in over our heads. We don't need whiners and gripers nipping at us. But we do need friends who will love us enough to point out how we might step up the good life God is giving us.
If one were to have the love and courage from the right heart to sit down with you face to face, would you receive correction with gentleness or with anger. Would you listen? Or, would you defend? Would you balk? Or would you evaluate?
Surely we do not think everything we do or say is ideal; let alone perfect. Therefore, we might need to be warned that our personal defenses can get in the way of living a robust life of faith and hope. We need assistance. We must make perpetual adjustments.
If we have become a people, and we have, who will bolt and head out to a new circle of friends because someone dared to have the love to correct us, we will be a very weak society. Living only to be sure we are personally pleased by all of those around us will result in a deficiency. To be without corrective words in our walk is to create a shallow and immature framework of a life.
When we can admit that we are in need of others' words which may sting a bit and surely challenge, it is then that we will most likely find fundamental progress being made which will prove much more productive.
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