Listen

“If your brother or sister sins against you, go and correct them when you are alone together. If they listen to you, then you’ve won over your brother or sister.”

Matthew 18:15

Think

I try not to be the kind of mom who corrects her kids constantly. But my kids are only 4 and 7, so they need… well… constant correcting. Especially at the dinner table. Chew with your mouth closed! Stay in your seat! Get your fingers out of your nose!

If I say these words so that everyone can hear them, the behavior usually just worsens. But if I lean over and whisper a soft reminder, things go a little better. Nobody, not even a 4-year-old, wants to be humiliated in front of a group. I don’t like that feeling any more than my kids do.

When a friend has hurt my feelings, I always feel tempted to tell everyone I know—to let all our mutual friends know what a dirtbag that person has been. But if I want the relationship to heal, humiliation is not the way. Jesus reminds us that speaking to someone privately and respectfully, as long as it’s safe to do so, is always the better path.

Catherine Healy

Question to Ponder:

Who has “sinned against you,” and is there a way for you to talk to them about it?

Pray

God of compassion, you know the pain I feel when other people treat me badly. Give me the courage to speak to them, and open my eyes to the ways I may have hurt others, so that those relationships might heal. One relationship that needs healing is…

Amen.

Go

“Be strong, be fearless, be beautiful. And believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you.”

– Misty Copeland, American ballet dancer