Veritas

I hadn't been preaching long when an older brother pulled me aside after a sermon to gently correct me. My intentions had been good, but my application of a particular passage of scripture was not accurate. He did not belittle me, or condemn me for the mistake, he humbly corrected me and went on to be a great encouragement to me in ministry.

Our culture is so concerned with political correctness that we are afraid to speak truth into the lives of others. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, it is unloving if we are plain spoken concerning sin. I have to stop and wonder if the reason our society has deteriorated is because so few have the courage to say, sexual immorality is sin; filling our hearts and minds with movies and music that lead us away from Christ is sin; compromising our values concerning the work and worship of the church is sin.

I am not suggesting that we are hateful or unloving in how we present truth. It should always been done in a spirit of meekness and loving kindness. Our desire should be for the good of others, not with the self-righteous indignation displayed by the Pharisees.

My children don't always like it when I call them to accountability for their actions. At times they are frustrated and angry that my standards and expectations for them are set higher than the world. I believe that God has called me to speak truth into the lives of my children whether they are happy with me or not.

But, who speaks truth into my life? Who holds me accountable? Who do I trust to tell me the hard truths about myself? We all need someone like that in our lives. We need brothers and sisters in Christ who love us enough to say, "your behavior is troubling, your conduct is unacceptable, the path you are walking is leading you away from Christ."

Are you open to allowing others to speak truth into your life?