Faithful Are the Wounds of a Friend (Proverbs 27:5-6)

record. All right, let me record and let me pin. Hey, I got another uh to-do list uh for uh we'll give it to William because he's really good at reminding me to record uh shouting it out. When we're done and we opening it up for conversation, remind me to unpin if you would. Yeah, there we go. Okay, good. All right, so today we're going to be uh we're going to go to Proverbs. Uh this is on my heart because this is something that Stacy and I have had to do uh the last this is something that Stacey and I've had to do for a couple people the last the last seems like the last two weeks.

And uh and it can be it's difficult to do. Um it can be difficult to do. It's not an easy thing, but I'd rather do it than not do it. So let me read the scripture. So, we're in Proverbs and we're going to be in Proverbs 20 uh chapter 27 and we're going to be in verses 5 and six. And so, verse 5 says, "Better is open rebuke than hidden love." And and I have something I want to talk about that as as well too. So, better is open rebuke than hidden love. And here I am looking at the screen over here. Uh uh wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.

And so, let's talk about this for a second. So, better is open rebuke than hidden love. And and and as I I sat and read that, I'm like, can love really be hidden? I'm like, is that possible? Can you love someone and then not tell them the thing that they need to hear? Or can you love someone and not share with them how much you love them? And I'm like, yeah, I think you can. I think I I I had a I had a parent who who was not really great at expressing or showing love. I think I had a parent who allowed me to do some things that I probably shouldn't have done growing up because they just didn't say the thing that needed to be said.

I don't think it that my father loved me any less. I think he loved me with all his heart. I just think that when it came time to say what he needed to say to me, maybe it was fear. I I don't know. Maybe that's where we're at. And think about this scripture from both ends of the perspective, right? So it says, "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but the enemy multiplies kisses." So the wounds of a friend can be trusted. So that means that when someone's coming to you to tell you something, to correct you, I look it, I don't think there's one of us that woke up this morning and said, "Lord, please send four people to me today to tell me I'm wrong." I don't I don't think that happens.

I don't think any of us do that. Um, but it is if we think about that, if someone has come to us in a in a in a with a right heart and with a correction, think about how difficult it is for that person to do that thing. And most times what we do, not all times and not everybody, but often times what we do is we dig our heels in because no one likes to be told that they were wrong or no one really truly appreciates and loves the fact that they're corrected. But what Solomon says here is that those conversations can be trusted. the person that just flatters you, just tells you it's all rainbows and Skittles, um, uh, has that cost them nothing to do that.

Nothing. And, and they have they have plenty to gain by doing that because then then we typically in our sinful nature want to want to grab those people. Those people are being kind. That's what it appears to be. They're those those are the kind those are the nice people. Those are the kind people. And that that Dwayne over there keeps telling me I'm wrong. And that's that's difficult to continue to take, especially when we have pride and it gets in the way our egos. So, uh, better is open rebuke. I'll give you an example of this and I'll go Old Testament again as well too.

So Nathan was a prophet and he was a good friend of King David and I won't go through the whole story but King David was a he did a no no and he slept with a man's wife he shouldn't have Basheba and then he had the the the woman's husband killed which was one of his top generals and uh and this was not a secret at least not to the prophet Nathan and so Nathan tells David this story of this horrific human being and what he did by this terrible thing that he that he did by killing a a a spotless lamb that he shouldn't have done his own. He should have used.

At any rate, David's like, "That man should be put to death. Who is this man?" And Nathan in one sentence said, "It's you." So, Nathan had Nathan had the courage to say to the king, uh, you've been bad. And that's that's love. And that takes courage and that takes commitment to do. And so, when we talk about this A true friend should be someone who has no problem sharing with you the things that you need to hear. Does it mean that the friend who didn't tell you that doesn't love you? And I think the answer to that is no. I don't think it doesn't mean that they don't love you.

But if you have to choose what kind of friend you want to be and how you want to express your love, do you want to be the person who says nothing and allows you to walk off a cliff, right? or do you want to be the person who steps up and says, "Hey, I think that's a bad direction. I think you might want to consider going this other way." Over all of that, we we have to we have to insert discernment or wisdom. Not everyone who comes to you is going to come to you in love and correct you. And so if we can't back up what they're saying in scripture, well then that's probably man wisdom or they're or maybe they're not the friend that we think they are.

So just keep that in mind when it comes time to correct or when it comes time to receive the correction. Still something that I'm I I challenge I'm challenged with right someone come I don't I don't want to be corrected. I feel like I'm really smart and I don't like it. go, "Oh my gosh, nobody does. Nobody does." But but we have to you have to consider the source, right? And so if you guys have been on this prayer call any length of time, you've heard me say this, and my mother ingrained it in my my my my brain, my daughter, my oldest daughter has it tattooed on her body, and that is simply that love thinks no evil.

So you may not like the words that you hear, but consider the heart and the matter and the way it was given or delivered. So all right, thoughts, comments, suggestions? Unpin. Unpin. Unpin. Thank you. You're welcome. I'm unpinning. There we go. Thoughts, comments, suggestions. So, if we jump like if we just jump like what, like another 11 verses there, we get right to iron sharpens iron, you know? I mean, it goes in. It's all it's it's tough love. And and the people who really truly do care about you will tell you where you're falling short, and they'll do it in love.

You know, that's the that's the key. But iron sharpens iron, man. Yep. The way I feel is if you if you don't really love somebody, you're not going to bother to waste your time to tell them what they're doing wrong because you just won't care. So, I mean, you're showing love just by showing them correction. Honestly, I I I always thought that too, Dustin. But what that doesn't leave room for is the person who's not mature in their walk, who's a little weaker in their faith. And we don't want to we don't want to we don't want to throw them out either.

And and I used to when I read this these two passages, I used to feel the exact same way. Well, if they're not willing to tell me where I'm missing it, then they don't really love me. But again, when we do that, we don't we don't allow room for maturity and growth to take place. Yeah. And what's really just a thought passage? Yeah. What's really tricky about this passage is because in order for this to actually work, uh two things have to happen. You have to number one surround your people, good people like this group, you know, people that you can trust that do love you because pride is all over this passage.

Like you have to remove pride because, you know, a lot of times people rebuke, but who are they to rebuke? You know, they're they're they're preaching from their holier than thou soapbox because they think you did something wrong or you need correction when it's like examine your own heart. Amen. Amen. Guys, I want to speak to this a little bit. Um, just I want you guys to know that um what Dwayne is speaking of and I don't he didn't call it out, but we've had two conversations this morning about employees and and customers and different things.

And so what he is speaking in truth in love, he is actually walking out as well. That's there's one thing to understand intellectually and this is something I'm guilty of. I studied love for 4 months and thought I understood it. Unconditional love for 4 months I studied it and about four months later I realized I wasn't applying it with one of my children. So do we really understand it if you intellectually understand it but you don't apply it. And so what I'm saying is what Dwayne has spoken about this morning is not something he's intellectually speaking to, but he's actually applying it as well.

And I commend him for doing that. But I think it's worth stating that guys, we it's not about reading your Bible and understanding it. It's about actually living it out and doing it because otherwise it's worthless. Well, Richard Yeah, Richard, I appreciate that. Um, and I and but I fall short every day. But the one thing I want to I want to piggyback on is what Richard said. So in James, he talks about in chapter one, don't just be a hearer of the word, be a doer. So whatever you read, you need to be putting in, right? So there you go. All right.

Anybody else? 30 seconds. I'm told I'm wrong all the time. What? 10. I said, I'm told I'm my friends must really love me because I'm told I'm wrong all the time on me. And what was that chapter in verse? It was Proverbs Proverbs 27 Proverbs 27 5 and 6 and and then I think it and then iron sharpens iron is down at I think 17. Yeah, 17. So, all right. Let's let's all love on Tim. Oh, that's funny. All right. Well, then let's let's bow our heads and uh and let's get a a great Wednesday off to start. Father, thank you so Oh, go ahead. One more to Tim.

All right, let's uh let's let's pray it out. All right. Father, thank you so much for today. Thank you for I mean just for simple words just for for for what you know often times we we um we don't even really think about. It's I mean this is just you're you're it just so much wisdom and common sense and and and two simple little verses uh Lord that that that we should honor and that we should we should remember and that we should operate on. Uh we should go to those that we love uh when we see that they need a they need a corrective word or an encouraging word.

We we we should also understand how difficult it is when someone comes to us with the exact same thing. That we shouldn't just dig our heels in, but that we should we should receive it the way it was given, accept it, understand it, research it. Um and and if that's correct, then we should change. We should we should have a repentive heart. So, Father, I just ask that um that we would operate on both sides of these two verses, Lord. that we would we would uh start to live this out as James said, just as just as Richard talked about, not just reading your Bible, but acting your Bible, doing the word that that you've put in front of us.

And so, Father, that's uh you know, the the Christian walk is uh some say it's simple. It's just not easy. And so Lord, we just ask for that strength that we know we don't have, but that you have and that we can rely on that we can tap into that every day so that we can go to that person in love. We can have that strength to say that thing and then we can have the even higher ability, that incredible strength to accept it when it comes our way. Father, walk with us today. Guide us, direct us, give us an opportunity to to to show love to somebody else uh as we go through our day.

Father, we love you. We praise you. And as always, in your son Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. All right, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Have a blessed day tonight. Blessed day. Oh yeah, I'll be there tonight. I'll be there tonight. Bible study tonight. Oh yeah. Where's Bible study at tonight? Uh Largo. Largo. Okay. Yep. Yep. 7 o'clock. Be there. Be square. Be there. Bye. All right. Bye all. Bye. Bye.

Transcript generated from the recording and lightly edited for readability.