Pastor's Place
EAST WASHINGTON HEIGHTS BAPTIST CHURCH
| "Loving Confrontation" |
VISION: "An intergenerational family of disciples who love God, love neighbors and transform the community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ." |
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Very often we assume that loving someone means that we just blindly accept everything about them and
never confront them when they are wrong. However, if we truly love someone then there are definite times
when we need to confront them, like:
- (1) When others stand to be hurt. Paul writes, "When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face,
because he was...wrong" (Gal 2:11 NIV). Wow! Listen again, "Before certain men came...[Peter] used
to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to...separate himself [and]...The other Jews
joined him in his hypocrisy...even Barnabas was led astray" (Gal 2:12-13 NIV).
- (2) When somebody is settling for less. The story is told that a woman bought a pair of dingy
candlesticks at a yard sale for a dollar. Assuming they were made of pewter, she took them home,
dusted them, and set them on her table. One day a friend who worked in antiques dropped by; "When
are you going to clean those candlesticks?" she asked. "What do you mean?" the woman asked, "I
just dusted them yesterday." "Dusted?" laughed her friend. "They need to be buffed and polished.
They're silver!" So they got silver polish and clean cloths and went to work, until the dull charcoal
veneer yielded a pair of gleaming silver candlesticks.
Loving confrontation removes the tarnish that keeps us from shining as God intended us to. God wants us to
speak the "truth in love." Today ask God to make you willing to confront, and when necessary, to be
confronted. Your growth depends on it!
- Peace and Blessings,
Pastor Kip Banks