“Better is open rebuke than hidden love.”
I don’t know who your first love was but mine was Bonnie. She was my first girlfriend. We were a couple for close to a year. It was a wonderful year. I’m not exactly sure what happened but the next school year we were no longer a thing. It wasn’t a tough breakup. We just moved on. I think it might have been a little harder on me. Mainly because Bonnie had no idea we were in a relationship. It was in my mind alone. That just seemed safest. Anyway the next year, 4th grade, was more about basketball than girls. Solomon talks of hidden love. You see my love meant nothing to Bonnie since she never knew it was there. Open rebuke does not seem like a great alternative though. My first reaction would be give me hidden love and keep your rebuke. However, the deeper truth in this simple statement is that a friend who is close enough and cares about us deeply enough to share correction is a powerful gift. I have been rebuked by selfish, arrogant people and it’s unpleasant and unhelpful. I have also been rebuked by people who I know love me and have my best interest at heart. Those are still unpleasant to a point but as I age I am truly grateful for those people in my life. What a gift they are. I have no interest in the soft, hidden love that speaks platitudes and out of some confused sense of friendship reinforces bad thinking and behavior. Today be the friend that both gives and receives correction correctly. #BeTheEdge
“speaking the truth in love.”Ephesians 4:15a NIV
