Go To Your Brother
Joseph Parker, a prominent British minister at the end of the 19th century, published an open letter to express his concerns for his friend and colleague, Charles Spurgeon. The letter read, "Let me advise you to widen the circle of which you are the center. You are surrounded by offerers of incense. They flatter your weakness, they laugh at your jokes, they feed you with compliments. My dear Spurgeon, you are too big a man for this."
Whether the concerns were valid or not, the method was certainly lacking. A true friend brings their concerns to us privately and only goes to our public with words of support and/or praise.
We would all do well to practice this same discretion in our social media interactions. Why correct a friend on a public facebook page when you can just as easily private message them? Show them you care more about them than winning an argument or looking superior.
"If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over" (Matthew 18:15).
Puppy Adds To Soft Answer
Sophie Roberts, with The Sun, reports:
THE power of the windscreen note strikes again, as an angry resident shames a careless parker in the most passive-aggressive way possible.
It turns out that using an illustration of an adorable dog could be the best method of ridding your road of parking hogs.
The printed message, which was left on the car windscreen, reads: “I am giving you this dog, his name is Spot.
“I thought you might want him, as you seem to be trying to take as many spots as possible.
“I hope this helps.”
. . . Many commenters commended the resident for their way of handling the irritating situation.
One Reddit user remarked: “That’s a cute, non-threatening note. It also gets the message across.”
When you have a difficult point to make, and you fear that it won't be well received, it’s important to take a gentle approach. For one thing, an angry, accusatory attack is not only demeaning, it communicates that you’re taking yourself too seriously.
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).
Step Forward
Desiree Andrews is a middle schooler at Lincoln Middle School in Kenosha, WI, where she is a member of the cheerleading squad. Desiree is a bright, bubbly young girl who loves to cheer and dance--Desiree has Down Syndrome.
At a recent game, Desiree was cheering for the boys basketball team when a heckler began jeering and bullying her. The boys on the team responded in short order. They walked off the court, confronted the heckler, and asked their coach to make sure the bullying didn't continue.
"The kids in the audience were picking on Dee, so we all stepped forward," said player Chase Vazquez.
“So when I heard they were talking about her like, it kind of like made me mad," said teammate Miles Rodriguez.
“It’s not fair when other people get treated wrong because we’re all the same. We’re all created the same. God made us the same way," said yet another player, Scooter Terrien.
It sounds like that basketball coach is building more than b-ball skills into his team--he's building character.
The boys of Lincoln Middle School basketball team were not content to stand by and watch as another of God's precious children was bullied, ridiculed and maligned. It took great courage (and great restraint), but they did the right thing the right way -- they stepped forward and stood up for her.
We can all take a lesson out of this team's playbook. Don't stand back when others need our support or defense.
Step forward!
"Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause" (Isaiah 1:17, ESV).
"Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy" (Proverbs 31:8-9, ESV)
"For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!" (Ecclesiastes 4:10, ESV).