You ask great questions and I discern in your writings a “kindred spirit.” 🥰
Q: 1) Have you ever longed to correct someone you sincerely believed was mistaken?
A: Many times. Learned in the process that the vast majority of people honestly don’t care what you know if they don’t know how much you care.
And that’s why I don’t “do” much with social media – – I really truly much more enjoy forming real live personal relationships with real live people. There is so much more to a relationship than exchanging thoughts.
Q: 2) How do you discern when love calls you to speak and when love asks you to trust that person to God instead?
The scripture you quoted here from second Timothy 2:24–26 is a perfect place to start. I often counsel the women that I coach to tattoo that on the inside of their forehead and to Keep it in remembrance when endeavoring to correct a fellow believer in Christ.
As far as correcting those who do not have the Holy Spirit indwelling, I have found Titus 3:10-11 and 1 Cor. 2:14 and 5:12 particularly informative and helpful.
In a nutshell, while we are commanded not to “judge” (i.e., not to look down upon any other human being from a holier-than-thou “I’m SAVED and you AREN’T” place of obnoxious spiritual pride….. we ARE simultaneously commanded to “judge righteous judgment” which is a fancy way of saying “discern the spirit of the person you’re interacting with.”
Why? So that we won’t make the mistake of trying to teach or correct an unwise, unteachable person or a mocker (see Proverbs 9:7-8).
Discernment of spirits also aids us in relating to different people at different times in helpful ways, for example, if this person is not a believer in Christ, is s/he possibly open to hearing the gospel? If not, sometimes the most loving act is to discern does the person possibly have a temporal need that can be met lovingly if s/he is not yet spiritually hungry?
I have found repeated readings and studying of I John very helpful in terms of encouraging wisdom and developing discernment for reasons that are very practical in terms of helping us know what constitutes a loving action with a certain person at a certain time given a certain set of unique circumstances, because there’s certainly no “one size fits all” in that!
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is simply being honest if/when faced with a confusing person or situation— to accept that sometimes, the answer to that popular question, “What would Jesus do?” Is “I have no clue.”
I’ve received supernatural help and insight many times by simply praying quietly, “Lord Jesus, I have absolutely zero clue what your love looks like in relationship with this person in this moment, but I know you do. So please just take over and love them THROUGH me.”
I have never had Him fail to answer that prayer, though sometimes, the answer looks quite different from whatever I would have thought or imagined. So it takes a bit of courage to pray a prayer like that, and then let go of all attachment to the outcome. Yet, I’ve learned a lot about how God views “love” with that approach.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a thoughtful response, sister! It truly blessed me. 🩷
Your words about people not caring how much we know until they know how much we care really stayed with me. I think that's something I need to keep learning.
I also appreciated the Scriptures you shared and your perspective on discernment. Especially your final thought—"Lord Jesus... love them through me." What a beautiful prayer. I may borrow it myself (for sure!)!
And thank you for your kind words about my writing. Hearing "kindred spirit" from someone seeking to walk faithfully with Christ is a real encouragement.
I'm grateful you joined the conversation, and I hope we continue learning from one another as we seek to follow Him with both truth and love. And I'm sure it will be valuable for other readers also.
I hope so too! My tent is 70 years old, and I am 50 years old in Yeshua. And the more I live, the more I learn of Him; and the more I learn, the more I realize the less I know. 🥰🙏✝️🕊️🙌🌹
What a beautiful perspective—and what a beautiful testimony.
I smiled when I read, "the more I learn, the more I realize the less I know." I think that's one of the clearest marks of true wisdom: the closer we draw to Christ, the more humble we become.
Thank you again for sharing so generously. It's a blessing to learn alongside brothers and sisters who have walked with the Lord for so many years. 🕊️🙌🙏
You ask great questions and I discern in your writings a “kindred spirit.” 🥰
Q: 1) Have you ever longed to correct someone you sincerely believed was mistaken?
A: Many times. Learned in the process that the vast majority of people honestly don’t care what you know if they don’t know how much you care.
And that’s why I don’t “do” much with social media – – I really truly much more enjoy forming real live personal relationships with real live people. There is so much more to a relationship than exchanging thoughts.
Q: 2) How do you discern when love calls you to speak and when love asks you to trust that person to God instead?
The scripture you quoted here from second Timothy 2:24–26 is a perfect place to start. I often counsel the women that I coach to tattoo that on the inside of their forehead and to Keep it in remembrance when endeavoring to correct a fellow believer in Christ.
As far as correcting those who do not have the Holy Spirit indwelling, I have found Titus 3:10-11 and 1 Cor. 2:14 and 5:12 particularly informative and helpful.
In a nutshell, while we are commanded not to “judge” (i.e., not to look down upon any other human being from a holier-than-thou “I’m SAVED and you AREN’T” place of obnoxious spiritual pride….. we ARE simultaneously commanded to “judge righteous judgment” which is a fancy way of saying “discern the spirit of the person you’re interacting with.”
Why? So that we won’t make the mistake of trying to teach or correct an unwise, unteachable person or a mocker (see Proverbs 9:7-8).
Discernment of spirits also aids us in relating to different people at different times in helpful ways, for example, if this person is not a believer in Christ, is s/he possibly open to hearing the gospel? If not, sometimes the most loving act is to discern does the person possibly have a temporal need that can be met lovingly if s/he is not yet spiritually hungry?
I have found repeated readings and studying of I John very helpful in terms of encouraging wisdom and developing discernment for reasons that are very practical in terms of helping us know what constitutes a loving action with a certain person at a certain time given a certain set of unique circumstances, because there’s certainly no “one size fits all” in that!
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is simply being honest if/when faced with a confusing person or situation— to accept that sometimes, the answer to that popular question, “What would Jesus do?” Is “I have no clue.”
I’ve received supernatural help and insight many times by simply praying quietly, “Lord Jesus, I have absolutely zero clue what your love looks like in relationship with this person in this moment, but I know you do. So please just take over and love them THROUGH me.”
I have never had Him fail to answer that prayer, though sometimes, the answer looks quite different from whatever I would have thought or imagined. So it takes a bit of courage to pray a prayer like that, and then let go of all attachment to the outcome. Yet, I’ve learned a lot about how God views “love” with that approach.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a thoughtful response, sister! It truly blessed me. 🩷
Your words about people not caring how much we know until they know how much we care really stayed with me. I think that's something I need to keep learning.
I also appreciated the Scriptures you shared and your perspective on discernment. Especially your final thought—"Lord Jesus... love them through me." What a beautiful prayer. I may borrow it myself (for sure!)!
And thank you for your kind words about my writing. Hearing "kindred spirit" from someone seeking to walk faithfully with Christ is a real encouragement.
I'm grateful you joined the conversation, and I hope we continue learning from one another as we seek to follow Him with both truth and love. And I'm sure it will be valuable for other readers also.
Shalom!
Shalom. ☺️☺️☺️. Such a beautiful word in the Aramaic/Hebrew, and one that our English word “Peace” simply doesn’t describe all that well.
I hope so too! My tent is 70 years old, and I am 50 years old in Yeshua. And the more I live, the more I learn of Him; and the more I learn, the more I realize the less I know. 🥰🙏✝️🕊️🙌🌹
What a beautiful perspective—and what a beautiful testimony.
I smiled when I read, "the more I learn, the more I realize the less I know." I think that's one of the clearest marks of true wisdom: the closer we draw to Christ, the more humble we become.
Thank you again for sharing so generously. It's a blessing to learn alongside brothers and sisters who have walked with the Lord for so many years. 🕊️🙌🙏
Shalom! (I also love this word!) ❤️