Lesson 72

What Can I Do To Convey A Message When I’ve Been Offended?

Although Scripture suggests that Christians should rebuke one another to help keep each other on the right path, it is often easier to say than to do. It would be simpler to ignore the problem than to address it, yet we know that dealing with it is an act of love. Our intent must be to avoid destroying the person or causing unnecessary pain, but to expose sin and fault in a loving way that brings the wanderer back in line with God’s Word.

Kristi’s husband had a difficult time setting boundaries with other women. After one experience, she knew she would have to address the issue with him even though she knew it would be difficult. “We had gone to a social gathering at church. When we arrived, my husband spotted a widow from out of town that had returned for a visit. He promptly left me at the doorway and walked directly over to her, giving her a full frontal hug. A few minutes later, I decided to go over and join the two of them and visited with her briefly before the event. The situation bothered me for a couple of days, so I decided to ask my husband what he would have recommended to a husband in that situation. I portrayed the event with other situational descriptions but described the husband leaving the wife at the door to go give the widow a big frontal hug. He definitely knew that the man should not have left his wife behind nor given the full frontal hug. Then I explained to him that it was exactly what he had done to me. He quickly apologized because he had not realized he had done that. We were immediately mended and he has been more careful since then.”