Speak, Part 1

The 3rd aspect of Tripp's personal ministry model is Speak...following up on the first two aspects, love and know. I wanted to break this into two parts as there is so much great stuff in these two chapters. 

Biblical view of confrontation:

1. Rooted in submission to the 1st greatest commandment - we confront other because we love Christ first - "To the degree that we give the love of our hearts to someone or something else, to that degree we lose our primary motive to confront."

2. Rooted in submission to the 2nd greatest commandment - we fail to speak because we lack true love, because we love ourselves too much and don't want to endure the hardship of honesty

3. It is our moral responsibility in every relationship. There should be many mini-moments of confrontation.

4. It's meant to be a lifestyle rather than an unusual event. Truth speaking should be part of our lives.

5. Flows out of a recognition of our identity as children of God. We are to be about His purposes which includes helping others conform to Christ.

6. Purpose is to help the person deal with the Lord, not us.

Why we all need honest, loving rebuke:

1. Deceitfulness of sin

2. Wrong and unbiblical thinking

3. Emotional thinking

4. Our view tends to be shaped by our experiences

2 primary goals in rebuking:

1. Being God's instrument of seeing in their lives - helping people see what God sees

2. Being an agent of repentance - helping in heart change that impacts their life

Great stuff that runs so counter to the premium we put on tolerance and looking the other way. But, growth occurs as we are challenged on where we stand in relation to God and His word. As Tripp points out, we have a lot of blind areas...areas that others see more clearly. Rather than seeing confrontation as a horrible evil, we should remember that genuine love cares enough to speak the truth. "Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Prov 27:5-6 

Writing about this gives the impression that I have it down, but I don't. This one is hard to do as well as to receive...

some lovely irises from our garden