"Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed." – Proverbs 27:5 (MEV)
Receiving a Godly rebuke from a concerned brother or sister in the Lord is a good thing. We Christians ought to be our brother's or sister's keepers, genuinely concerned and able to correct those who are on the erring side of things. But while it's always easy to point out someone else's faults, it's not easy to be on the receiving end of it.
Have you been rebuked or corrected by a fellow Christian and not known how to receive it? I hope to help you extract the good fruits that come from a loving and righteous rebuke from a fellow Christ-follower. James tells us that it is a very good thing:
"Brothers, if any one of you strays from the truth and someone corrects him, let him know that he who converts the sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins." (James 5:19-20)
No one is perfect, and I'm sure all of us have been rebuked at some point in our lives. Do you want to make the most of it? Here are some tips to help you accept a loving rebuke and benefit from it.
1) See the rebuke as a message of concern
Many of us become bitter after being rebuked, even by a person we know to be genuinely concerned about us. Why is that? It's because we see the rebuke as an attack on our person, and not as a message of concern.
Consider what the Lord Jesus said with regards to the response of His peope to what He had done for them:
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you, how often I would have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not!" (Matthew 23:37)
2) Check the facts
Think about the rebuke you received and compare it with what you really did, said, or even think. Was it true? Was it precise in pointing out what was wrong and what it sought to address in you? If it was, then you should not reject it.
Rather, you should work with it. And that's important even if the way they delivered the rebuke wasn't as loving as you would have liked it to be.
Proverbs 27:6 tells us, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." No matter how painful the rebuke is, the fact that a good friend pointed out what was wrong means that he or she is concerned with us and wants that wrong made right. It will really save us from the error of our ways.
3) Thank God for loving rebukes
When a Godly friend rebukes our wrong, we should think of that person as a blessing. It's God's desire to make us holy and Christ-like, and He will use all means possible to make that happen (see Romans 8:28-30). Always remember what Hebrews 12:5-6 tells us,
"My son, do not despise the discipline from the Lord, nor grow weary when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and scourges every son whom He receives." (see also Proverbs 3:11-12)
Always keep in mind that the rose's fragrance is released all the more when it is crushed. God bless you!
