You Don't Know Me!

If I'm honest with myself, I spend a lot of my day talking about and/or making assumptions/judging those around me. Most of the time I make judgments about random strangers (assumptions such as: I bet he's a jerk or I bet she's just trying to catch attention with that outfit, and we can all agree this is wrong and sinful; however, the situation becomes a little more tricky when someone we know is caught in a sin that is tearing their life apart, and we want to say something without overstepping our bounds.

As we talked about on Sunday, Jesus gave us guidelines for how to approach our friends when making a judgment: judge as we would want to be judged, understand the entire situation, examine ourselves, and address our own problems. Just as important as understanding how to judge, it is important for Christians to understand how to receive criticism. What does the Bible say about how we should handle ourselves when God sends a friend to confront an issue in our own lives? Let's take a look at what Solomon, a man God granted with the gift of extreme wisdom (which is wisdom TO THE EXTREME, by the way), has to say about criticism:

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid. -Proverbs 12:1

It is better to correct someone openly, than to have love and not show it. -Proverbs 27:5

Personally, when a friend of mine takes the time and puts our friendship on the line to bring my attention to a problem in my life, I am very respectful and receive their criticism with open arms...Now, I hope you didn't buy that. Just like most of us, I often become defensive, and ignore the Holy Spirit's calling stirred on by a friend's warning. However, if I could keep the advice of Solomon in my heart, I might be able to notice my own shortcomings, and save myself future heartache. God often puts people in our lives who can point out flaws in ourselves, which we would never notice on our own. Just as it is important for us to judge correctly, it is important for us to receive Godly correction in a God-honoring way.


Explore
Meditate on the words of Solomon in the previously mentioned Proverbs.

Pray
That God will help you receive correction in a manner that honors Him, and that you may follow His guidelines for judging others.

Homework
(Prepare an answer for group on Sunday)
What are some typical things people feel guilty about?