I have been very convicted on the uses of words lately. Partly because I have seen/experienced the good the encouragement and light they can bring to us, and partly because I have also seen/experienced how hurtful and unedifying they can be.
As a team last Sunday, the renovation team decided that since we consider outselves a 'family of God', we mutually decided to be open with our lives/struggles/joyful moments, which means we decided to also be open to calling each other on things that don't line up with our life in Christ and what that should look like. I have been called unfairly on things by people that didn't know the situation, didn't know my life and didn't know me. I know the hurt that becomes of such 'unloving/uncalled for rebuke'. I think it's important to know what you're going to say before you say it. If you feel that God is really calling you to call someone out on something, that means that you have actually TALKED with God about it- praying/getting counsel about doing it before you do it, if it's something that could be hard to swallow. It is not fair to our brothers and sisters in Christ to go to them in anger and cause more hurt than good. I know that I have been guilty of doing that in the past- I think the reason I have been so convicted of it recently is because it has really hurt me recently.
Check out my dad's latest blog entry... it's good stuff.
http://adeeperlife.wordpress.com/2008/05/20/house-rule-4-only-edifying-words/
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