There are places in the New Testament where correction is gentle, and places where it’s blunt. For teachers and leaders today, how should tone be chosen? When is “gentle counsel” the right format vs a more direct warning? What are the risks of defaulting to only one tone all the time?
1 Like
I believe we should pray about how to correct others and use discernment when to speak and not to speak, when to be gentle and when to be more stronger. Everyone is different and responds differently. Some need gentle love while others need tough love. Proverbs 27:23 says “know the condition of your flocks”. We can take that spiritually where leaders, teachers and pastors should know the different personalities within the church. Know who needs gentile love and correction and know who needs tough love and correction. Most of all we should let God guide us and tell us how to proceed and deal with certain people and situations.
1 Like
Some people adopt an authority they do not have in an attempt to control others or vent their contempt.
If one has the best interests of others in mind, it may be seen in an offer to help such as…
“If you are interested, I might be able to offer a perspective that could be helpful regarding_____.”
1 Like
God called me for 27 years, @ellenvera, to correct seven complacent churches. I’m a sinner too just like those Christians were. Therefore, I included myself in my calls for spiritual improvement, “we” instead of “you.” They were still uncomfortable, but God hasn’t called us to be comfortable but to receive his comfort.
1 Like
I think any man or woman who is actually moved by the Spirit of God to intervine, whether to act or speak, does not require the authority of any man or organization to do so.
And if the Spirit of the Lord is on that person, it will be quite evident. No trap, plot or scheme of man will stop them. Nor a rope bind them. They will see clearly, know fully, and be empowered to move as necessary to do what must be done at God’s instruction, Who also gives them the purpose, the clarity, and the knowing.
And remember, If the Tone is Too Harsh, keep in mind that Christ used whipping cords to chase merchants outside the Temple doors and gave an extremely stern rebuke to those disciples who told Him contrary to God’s Will for His Life because of the seriousness of the offense, just as any parent will scream at and punish a child who is about to run into a busy street or who stands too close to a ledge and is about to fall off.
The “Tone” does not determine the LOVE or the Lack but emphasizes the seriousness of the offense. And it does not matter whether you feel good about it or whether it makes you feel better about your life decisions. A rebuke isn’t suppose to make you feel better. It is meant to alert you to the danger you have placed yourself in. Yourself, the church, and the world.
Every decision and behavior matters and affects everyone we intersect with. No sin is done in isolation. There is always a victim, an injured party, someone who is diminished or devalued in the act, whether we are hurting or harming others, ourselves, or embodying or representing something.that is not God to a world that is desperate for LOVE in order to come back to LIFE.
God is not playing some game for anyone’s amusement. Souls are on the line. All Creation teeters on the edge. And We are not here to push it over that ledge but to pull it back. We should all be screaming at the top of our lungs and moving as fast as we can because every second counts.
But Apathy has numbed us to sleep. Drunkenous dulls the senses and the mind. And when Christ returns, will anyone be awake? Remember the days of your youth, Beloved, when you ran as quickly as you could to see Him and be with Him. Remember that LOVE, when your heart was first filled with joy. That is the Spirit. Let that Spirit shake you awake, put you on your feet, and set you to running. Let that Spirit make you ready for the days to come.
1 Like