Sunday 12 Nov 2017

November 12: Proverbs 27:5-6

Key Verse: Proverbs 27:6
Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.

Devotion:
If we are going to be bold enough to be able to face up to friends and neighbours, then we have to be bold enough to accept criticism from them and even face up to being told off by them too. How else are we going to learn other than through having our errors corrected? Can you imagine what it would be like if none of our errors were corrected – we would simply continue in sin... Equally, we should be able to tell our friends when they are doing something wrong and expect them to be able to accept the truth as well.

If we do not get the small things off of our chests then they will build up and corrupt our spirits. Secretly hating what others are doing is not only going to cause us grief, but will ultimately cause us to lash out at our friends when we get to the point where we cannot take any more. If we are to say we love our friends and neighbours, then we must show them we do by standing up and telling them when things are not right. Ignoring things and trying to brush over them is just going to cause grief in the long run. When we ourselves get told of our wrong-doings, we need to remember that our friends will be doing this out of love and not out of spite... Just as a doctor is there to help a patient by doing what is required and not to simply say nice things to make them happy, we need to be there for others.

But just as we accept things from our friends, we do have to watch out what we accept from our enemies. Our enemies may well be the ones who tell us the nice things to try and make us happy whilst not doing the right things. We may find our friends tell us off whilst our enemies don't. We need to know what is wrong so we can identify who is telling the truth. Most of the time we will already know what is right and wrong and we will already know who is telling the truth – but we will not always accept it because we may just want to “feel nice”! Being able to stand on God's Word and allow Him to help and direct us through His word will help us to know who our true friends are – the ones that are telling us the truth...

Points to Ponder:
Do you help to cover up friends wrong-doings?

Would you openly help Satan to get his own way?