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The Truth in Love
“Speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).
Do you ever feel discouraged and ready to give up? I do! In fact today I am rather discouraged and downcast. Yesterday someone spoke rather harshly to me, and it really upset me. What they said may have been true, but the way they said it hurt. I felt as if someone had whipped me.
It got me thinking about Job and his three friends in the Old Testament. “Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite” (Job 2:11). Many of the things they said to Job were true, but the way they said them and their spirit and attitude in talking to Job was anything but a help. In fact, Job finally said to them, “Miserable comforters are ye all” (Job 16:2).
Let’s be careful, not only what we say, but how we say it. We may speak the truth, being clear as ice and just as cold. It is good to be faithful with our friends, but let’s make sure it is in a way that not only speaks to the conscience but also warms the heart.
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