Hebrews 12:18-19 “You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking.”
Another translation says His voice and message was so harsh that the people begged Him not to speak. God has always treated His people with honesty, and there have been times when His honesty and discipline may have seemed harsh to the Israelites. But just as we must discipline our children, He also saw the need to discipline His people. We live in a time when lies and dishonesty run wild, and at times (I hate to say it) even in the Christian household. But that is not the way of Christ whose name we bear. Jesus was honest with people, but He knew how to speak with love. For instance, in Mark 10: 17-22 it tells of a rich young man who asked Jesus how he can obtain eternal life. Jesus of course tells him to obey all the commandments which the young man says he has been doing all his life. But Jesus knew what held this young man back, it was the importance he placed on his possessions and money, so Jesus said to give it all to the poor. This was probably the last thing the young man wanted to hear, so he walked away. And what about the story in John where Jesus exposes the sinful life of the Samaritan woman? Or in Matthew when Jesus tells Peter he will deny Him three times? Peter’s fear of man made him feel it was necessary to do this. When Jesus was resurrected, He asked Peter three times “Do you love me?” This forces Peter to confront his weakness and see his need for change. In each of these cases, Jesus knew their weakness and knew without change their journey would end without eternal life. It was out of love that Jesus spoke the truth of their weakness. When we speak truth to others it should be tempered with love not cruelty, that being said there will be times when truth is not taken the way it was intended, and this is unfortunate. I’ve always believed that the way we say things is as important as what we say, Jesus knew the importance of honesty spoken with love. Jesus spoke truth in order to save others, this is a love that is so deep, so enduring that words cannot even begin to describe it. How much more love can a person have then to be willing to take on the sin of another and suffer death, let alone to take on the sin of all men and suffer death on the cross? So, do we not owe it to Him to speak honestly with tenderness and love when we see someone heading down the wrong path? And if we are the one traveling down the wrong path, do we not owe it to Him to take this honesty with the love it was given in? No matter which side of this conversation you are on, it is difficult because we are imperfect. Our feeling get hurt, we get defensive, we try to justify our actions or words, we say things that come across harsh and maybe even a little vengeful. Both sides of such a conversation need time, time to choose their words carefully and time to consider the correction that is being given. Give with love and receive with love – keeping in mind that we all have weakness and are imperfect, and there will be times when each of us needs someone to guide us back to that straight and narrow path. Proverbs 27:6 tells us “Faithful are the words of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” Remember God’s words to the Israelites, don’t cover your ears and beg Him to stop, don’t ignore the things you don’t want to hear, we all have things we need to work on. It doesn’t matter if you were raised in the church or if this is the first day you are opening your Bible, none of us are perfect. Often times it is easier for others to see our imperfections, our weakness, our mistakes – then it is for us to see them. That’s why honesty is so important, it is one way of expressing deep love and affection for others provided that the honesty is seasoned with love. Until next time may God bless you and bring peace to your heart.