“Nevertheless, there are good things found in thee...” An old Irish scrub woman who was known for giving due credit to her worst enemies, when taunted by others to apply her unusual trait to the devil, said, “Well, at least he’s consistent!” And so it is with God. He takes note of anything praiseworthy in our lives. He does not let things that He is displeased with blind him to those good qualities we may possess. He seeks out the good, be it ever so little.
We could take a lesson from the Lord Jesus in this coveted virtue. Addressing Christians in each of the seven churches of Asia Minor, He made a point of addressing their good characteristics before proceeding to those less desirable ones. First, commendation; then follows the condemnation. Both in family, church, school, work, and life in general, one is apt to take a rebuke better if this order is followed. And those who observe us will take notice of our fairness and unbiased principles.
Fairness to a person’s good qualities does not mean we excuse the bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment