Our words are so important because they communicate to others just what we are thinking. In my journey of seeking out "kindness" as my "One Word" for 2024, I have been paying close attention to words. Not only the words themselves, but the tone in which they are shared.
We are living in a fallen world and our culture is going further and further away from the clear declarations of what the Bible outlines for our lives.
What do we do when we come across those who are living outside the realms of Christianity in the way they are living their lives?
Do we just look the other way and ignore it? That's becoming quite the common thing to do, even among some Christian circles. We pretend that it's not really that bad rather than sharing, in love, the Truth of Scripture.
I recently have come across two links that I want to share with you, as examples of what Kindness looks like when shared in love.
Jacob Crouch shared such a wonderful example of sharing the truth in love regarding abortion over on his blog. It's kindness demonstrated through sharing the Truth of Scripture in love.
John MacArthur is such a wonderful example of speaking the Truth of Scripture in love. I'm so thankful for his teaching and example over the years because he stands strong on the Word of God. The link I have included shows his kindness in relating to a couple of recent issues in Christianity.
My lesson on kindness through these men? Sharing the Truth of Scripture is much more kind and loving than turning my head away and pretending that these things do not exist. Sharing the Truth won't always seem kind to some, but it is necessary. People hated Christ...if I am a Christ follower, it's a given that I will be misunderstood too, but it doesn't excuse me from being kind in sharing the Truth of Scripture in love.
kindness is what makes the world go round. I try to be a beacon of kindness especially if someone is super grumpy - it is difficult!!
ReplyDeleteYes, it can be difficult. What I am learning (slowly but surely) is those super grumpy ones are the ones who need it the most. xx
DeleteI love your "One Word" this year! We need more of it that's for sure! I must say that I was shocked by Allistair Beggs point of view that MacCarther spoke about... geez. Thank you for sharing it!...in kindness.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Monica, for your kind words. I think of you often and pray for you. xx
DeleteThe truth is still the truth, even if it is uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteSandi, I think we all have had times in our lives when the truth has made us uncomfortable...it may even be known as conviction. 😉
DeleteThat's such an important truth that the truth itself is kind--kind in itself but also kinder than a lie. It's also important to share it lovingly when possible. We've known too many who used truth like a hammer, not to give light and redeem but to beat people down.
ReplyDeleteYou probably already saw this, but Tim Challies wrote about this today, too.
DeleteOh, my friend, I hear what you are saying about not using the truth as a hammer to beat people down. I've spent too many years of my life as a Christian seeing that done, as a result of the denomination we were in.
DeleteOh... thank you for telling me that Tim Challies' article today was on this very topic. I don't check his blog every day, but I went over and read it after I found your comment. I actually wrote this post about a month ago and just felt that I was supposed to share it today. 😊
Wise words and I agree with Sandi.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Karen. I think the key in sharing the truth in love is humility.
DeleteI like your thoughts Dianna and so agree “ Sharing the Truth won't always seem kind to some, but it is necessary”.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words and insight, Tina.
DeleteThank you for this post. I read the Jacob Crouch post and thought it was so well said. I have a friend who grew up in a terrible situation, was not saved until she was 30 and had an abortion in her early 20's. She now has a son who is a missionary pastor in Ireland and she has formed a ministry speaking to Christians about abortion - to open eyes to how many people have them, including people in church with us, and to talk about the effects of them on the mom. I'm sending this link to her, she will appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteI also listened to the John McArthur clip and agree on how well he speaks kindly and truthfully.
It's not easy to speak the truth and I often fail miserably. For me, it's not so hard speaking on abortion, but my hairdresser is gay and it's much harder on a personal level. I've talked with her on my beliefs on abortion and my faith. She is very liberal, an atheist and pro-abortion. She's been open to hearing about my faith, but says she can't think that way. However, I haven't brought up the gay issue, although I'm sure she knows how I feel, given my other beliefs.
Anyway, this was so good for me to read.
Mari, thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful response to the post today. What a blessing it is to me. I wrote this post about a month ago and just felt led to publish it today and then my friend Barbara mentioned to me that Tim Challies posted about speaking the truth in love on his blog today. I read it and it's really good too. You can find it at challies.com if you are interested.
DeleteThanks - I'll check it out.
DeleteYes! It is good that we have those to encourage us to do the right thing in the right way. The examples of MacArthur, Challies, and others are good to read for encouragement and a model to follow. We get slammed with the 'Judgement' comments and it's hard to know how to recover from those blanket statements.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, Ellen. I'm also thankful for the example of our pastor who speaks the truth in love.
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