Nov 13, 2018
Finally, be
like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 1Peter 3:8
Kindness marks the
Christian life better than corrections.
Do you have the spiritual gift of correction?
Many years ago, I was sitting in an interview of a couple
being considered for a ministry position.
Several people were part of the interview, and it was a positive
atmosphere where everyone was trying to get acquainted. As several folks asked the couple questions,
it became clear that one spouse was “gifted” with an unlisted spiritual gift of
correction. Every time the candidate gave
an answer, the spouse would have something to correct in the response. Eventually, the spouse started making most of
the answers for the candidate.
You guessed it --- we didn’t hire the candidate. (That wasn’t the only reason, but it didn’t
help.)
MANY, MANY people feel like it is there job to correct other’s
mistakes. Somewhere along the line, we
have decided it is our job to point out mistakes, to bring up the past, to
alter the answers, to tell people where they can do it better. In our own arrogance, we believe our knowledge
or experience or wisdom is superior, and the person needs correction. So we initiate it without being asked,
interjecting our great pearls of wisdom to improve their lives.
But consider for a moment … how often has unrequested
correction been helpful? Does it not
create more gaps in the relationship with the corrector? Hasn’t it felt more defeating than
encouraging when it comes to initiative?
Has the correction really advanced your life
--- or maybe through maturity you have chosen to learn from it and make your
own corrections in the future?
Jesus taught with authority as the Son of God, but He spent
His effort on correcting principals instead of correcting people. Even in His correction, you see Jesus show
sympathy and compassion, instead of arrogance & control. That
doesn’t mean correction is NEVER to be used – it just means the correction is
less public, more loving, out of example instead of condemnation.
Realize that even now, God STILL teaches us through
experience and results way more than pre-determining correction. His Grace and mercy is sufficient to cover
our mistakes, and for the most part, God lets us make them until we learn the
lessons. Peter knew that very well!
Peter shows us the same courtesy by writing to all believers
and calling us to be like-minded with Jesus – showing sympathy, love,
compassion & humility. Those aren’t
words of correction, their words of encouragement. The spirit of love is far better than
corrective words for directing people toward the right path. That may be why we commonly say that Love is Kind.
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