Today in the One Year Bible, we read from 1 Kings 22:1-53. The king of Israel is complaining because there's one prophet who only says bad things regarding the king. It annoys him that the prophet never has anything nice to say. It's all doom and gloom.
But the REASON the prophet is saying bad things is because the king isn't doing what God wants him to do. So the prophet is just telling the king to get his act together before it gets worse.
As followers of Jesus, we often have to give people bad news, too. No, you can't eat whatever you want and stay healthy. No, you can't drink until you're drunk and then go drive your car. No, you can't have sex with whoever you want. We sound like a bunch of negative grouches to people who are living it up.
But the prophet wasn't telling the king bad things for no reason, or because he hated him. He told him the truth, and the truth wasn't very pleasant to someone who was doing the wrong things. Same for us - we tell people they shouldn't do these things, not because we're cosmic killjoys, but because it's the truth, and the more they violate those laws, the more bad consequences they're going to face.
So don't be afraid to give the bad news. But be sure to do it with love.
God, thank You for giving us the truth... please help us to share it in love.
No comments:
Post a Comment