Article - A “Striking” Aspect of Kindness (part 2)
David prayed to God, “Let the righteous strike me; it shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; it shall be as excellent oil; let not my head refuse it” (Psalm 141:5). The clear Bible teaching on this aspect of kindness seems the exact opposite of what we hear today. The world teaches us that if we are to be “kind”, we should never shame, censure, correct or rebuke anyone. However, we must always remember that our thoughts are not God’s thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). We must transform our thinking to be like God’s as revealed in the word of God (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; James 2:8-9). Instead of allowing the world to define terms, we must allow God’s word to do so (1 Peter 4:11). The Bible says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isaiah 5:20)! The love of Jesus motivated Him to expose the sin of the rich young ruler (Mark 10:21). Paul said that if we do not have love, we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2). We must “love the brotherhood” (1 Peter 2:17) and “Let all that [we] do be done with love” (1 Corinthians 16:14). How can we expect to go to heaven if we do not possess and practice genuine love and kindness? - that is, a love which includes exposing sin and a kindness which includes rebuking those in error. Let us be kind to one another and also be willing to receive kindness. May our prayers (and loving actions) be similar to David’s in Psalm 141:5.
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