Today, I am continuing the series on, Reading the Bible. My last post in this series was about cultural lies. This one is about confronting people, perhaps over their dishonesty. When is it right to confront people over their sin?
We’re fallen people, living in a fallen world, and even committed Christians sometimes act badly. Mostly we show grace and offer forgiveness, even to seventy-times-seven times (Matthew 18:22).
However, if we notice a consistent pattern of low-grade dishonesty, the most loving course of action is to call people to account.
There’s a time to confront: “This is what you said but this is what you did.”
This is even more important if we become aware of a major departure from truthfulness or something illegal. It’s not easy to confront someone. It takes godly wisdom to know the right time and place. Yet, it isn’t loving to allow people to continue in their unacceptable behaviour, not only for their sake but also for those who interact with them.
God expects us to take our commitment to truth seriously. Another place we see this is in the making of vows. In Old Testament culture it was common for people to make special vows as an expression of their love for God. It wasn’t something that God required, but having made a vow God expected people to keep their word and do what they had promised, even if it cost more than they anticipated (Leviticus 27).
