How Do You Respond to Those Who Have Gone Out of Their Way to Do Wrong?
Teachable moments are all the rage today, at least the concept is. Chiding, rebuking, and the opportunity to correct are en vogue. One wonders if it has ever gone out of style.
The Adrian Peterson controversy that continues to dominate the airwaves gives a face to correction and a cause to advocate for or against. What works, what doesn’t, what’s too much, what are the contexts to which these disciplinary measures are applied?
Teachable moments and discourse over how to deal with a cause for correction is part of the learning process, for both those who feel called to correct through explanation and those who are being corrected. How do we administer it and how do we receive it?
In the Parable of the Prodigal Son the second son, who has been nothing but loyal, wants his father to chastise the younger brother for destroying half of what the father had worked hard to achieve. His intent is that his brother no longer have any standing because of his flamboyant disregard for family, hard work, restraint, and cultural custom.
In the Christian world, we are quick to pursue a way to leverage unforgiving rebuke against those who we believe need the strongest of teachable moments.
The problem reveals itself in how to accomplish this. We must admit that we are not perfect, and the best of intentions, and sometimes the worst of intentions, do not bring us the results we had hoped.
My suggestion for us as Christians is not to shy away from these times when they are needed, but, if you are conflicted with how to deal with someone when it comes to that learning opportunity, if you wonder how to address what it is they really need, if you’re not sure about how to raise them up without destroying their spirit, default to grace.
I don’t believe that our Heavenly Father will punish you for showing mercy because you’re unsure about the best way to handle those teachable moments. We must be thankful that the greatest of teachable moments was shown to us by the way of our grace.
It’s a difficult thing to seek to snatch people out of the fire. May God be with you as you seek to reveal the Kingdom as the Kingdom has been administered to you. Amen.
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