Thursday, April 5, 2012

Weekend Speaker:  Pastor Ben Sigman

Theme:  Beyond: Next Level Living - Honesty

Read: Matthew 7:1-5

Think: One of the character defects that I had to realign with God's standard early on in my walk with Christ was my propensity to 'stretch the truth' to meet my needs.  Then as I learned God's truth for my life I also began to share that more openly with others.  One of the things that I became more aware about myself was how my method of delivery wasn't exactly a balance of truth and grace.   As Pastor Ben mentioned, sometimes people think that truth is a hammer.

Since I have recognized this in myself and actively work to give my mind and my tongue to God, I have had to humble myself on more than one occasion when my delivery didn't match what was in my heart.  One way I overcome this is by following the recovery principles that I learned when I started attending Celebrate Recovery, a Christian 12-step program like the one just launched at Timberlake.  

Step 10 says to take a continual personal inventory and when I am wrong to promptly admit it.  Or to put it another way, I need to remove the plank from my eye first as Jesus tells us to do in Matthew 7:3-5.  Removing the plank from my own eye helps me to discern the right time and the right way to speak truth to others. 

As a result of my own struggles to balance my delivery with truth and grace, I have also become more compassionate with others who think that truth is a hammer.  That doesn't make it any easier to be on the receiving end of the hammer, but it has helped me to develop some tools to respond more lovingly to it.

Here are a few scripture references that I remind myself of when I witness the 'hammer of truth':

1.  Do not return evil for evil. (Romans 12:17-21)
2.  Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. (James 1:19-21)
3.  Proverbial wisdom that reminds me to be careful with my tongue.  (Proverbs 10:19-21)

Showing compassion and offering forgiveness are worthwhile investments in our emotional and spiritual growth--regardless of how the other person choses to respond.  Afterall, Jesus didn't promise that we wouldn't have troubles.   

Do: Reflect on a time that you may have spoken out of turn or used Biblical truths as a hammer.  If appropriate, offer forgiveness without any expectation of the outcome. 

Pray:  Heavenly Father, I pray that you would help me to see where I need to speak the truth in love and to not use your Word as a hammer toward others.  Give me discernment to see where I need to offer forgiveness, not return evil for evil and to always be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.  Amen.

A Note To Our Readers: After prayer and thoughtful planning, we are setting new options for you for daily inspiration and dose of God's Word! Beginning Monday, April 9th we will no longer do a Timberlake daily devotional. In its place we encourage you to check out two other options: For a Daily Devotional: Our Daily Bread ; For Daily Bible Reading Plans, YouVersion. Thanks for including us in your day over the last four years. We hope the devotionals have helped you grow closer to Jesus and develop a great habit of being in God's Word each day!

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