Too often I find that I don't "call people out" because I'd rather keep the peace. I rationalize it to myself because I see the positive qualities in the person and fear creating a rift in the relationship where those qualities might not be used around me anymore. The root of it is selfishness. Rather than approach someone and lovingly try to understand why they are seemingly being disobedient, I hold it in so that things don't get awkward or uncomfortable. I read Galatians 1:18 and 2:11 today. In the first verse Paul spends 15 days living with Peter getting to know him. They built a friendship, we can guess. They trusted each other. Yet Paul doesn't hesitate to call Peter out in 2:11. And I think it's because of the friendship that he felt the freedom to do so. Relationships should give us the authority to speak the truth in love to people, not the tendency to ignore their faults. People can only grow when they are exposed to their areas of weakness. And if my closest friends are unwilling to expose mine to me, or vice versa, then nobody will and I will continue to go on with those weaknesses.
God, I pray that I will always speak the truth in love and that you would guide me through the difficult conversations that I encounter. Amen.
