Balancing encouragement with confrontation

 

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Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.                                                                                                              2 Timothy 4:2 I’ve learned that when it comes to conflict, there are two types of people: those who like to run into conflict and those who avoid it like the plague! This becomes so apparent when you get into marriage. On the one hand, I’ve known husbands and wives who let problems go on for years and harbor internal bitterness. On the other, I’ve seen those who just love to fight all the time. But the Bible calls us to find a healthy balance between the two. Obviously there are times for conflict – times to reprove and rebuke. Yet just as often there are times when God wants you to exhort others with complete patience. The key is balance! So what does a balanced life look like with regard to conflict? You must practice both patient encouragement as well as constructive conflict. So if you are more conflict-averse, talk to someone who knows you well and ask them if there are areas where you could be more straightforward. If you are more comfortable with conflict, check with someone to see if you ever come across too sharply. As we live on this earth together, each member of the body of Christ should focus on spurring one another on to love and good deeds. And the best way to do that is by having a good balance between encouragement and confrontation.   WHEN CONFRONTATION AND ENCOURAGEMENT ARE KEPT IN BALANCE, WE CAN BUILD UP ONE ANOTHER.

A Real Walk with God

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”
Genesis 5:21–24

The list of the descendants of Adam given to us in Genesis chapter five includes several men whose faith was mentioned in Hebrews 11 in the great review of Old Testament saints. But only one, Enoch, is singled out with a description of his relationship with God. When the Bible speaks of walking with God, it is talking about a life that is based on and filled with faith. “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5).
If our lives are to please God, then we must have Him occupy such a position in our hearts that He is the center of our thoughts and affections. J. Oswald Sanders wrote, “It is impossible for a believer, no matter what his experience, to keep right with God if he will not take the trouble to spend time with God. Spend plenty of time with him; let other things go, but don’t neglect Him.” Too many Christians fill their days and their lives with everything except God. Often these are not bad things, but taken in totality, they become clutter that keep us from having room for Him.
The Lord is not interested in partial devotion. He does not seek small portions of our time; rather, He demands His rightful place at the center of our lives. When we consistently walk with the Lord, our decisions and choices will reflect His priorities and obedience to His commands.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

Without the faith to seek God’s face, we will never have a meaningful and deep relationship with Him.