Christ Be All

View Original

10 suggestions on how to respond to inaccurate rebukes...

It is good to be rebuked biblically.But there are times when people say things to us in wrong ways and there are times when they say things about us that we really don't think are accurate. What can we do then?Here are several suggestions:1. Listen in order to make sure you truly understand the criticism they are making.2. Remind yourself that you are saved by Jesus' work and loved by God who knows more about you than anyone else.3. Watch out for the sin of pride, especially as expressed in a superior attitude which doesn't listen to people 'below' you.4. Carefully evaluate your life in light of whatever Scriptural passages they gave or if they don't give Scriptural passages, think of what principles you may have violated and be willing to repent for any actual sins you may have committed. Without gossiping or presenting spin, you might even go to someone who is not a yes man and ask in a general way focusing on the principle rather than the specific situation whether they have seen you regularly committing that sin.5. Commit to trusting God that He can take care of your reputation and be slow to work too hard at defending it yourself unless it is really necessary for the gospel's sake. View this as an opportunity for self-denial and embrace the opportunity to be humbled. Remember that anything that causes you to trust in the cross more and yourself less can be and is a good thing even if it does really hurt.6. It can be appropriate to express sorrow for any ways in which the other person has felt pain as a result of your actions, but best not to ask for forgiveness unless you are convinced you have sinned. Otherwise asking forgiveness can become a means of manipulation.7. Look to Jesus and remember that he was misinterpreted, without developing some sort of strange 'Messiah' complex. He was perfect, we are not, but there are times where we are legitimately sinned against, yet we bring sin to the table more often than we realize.8. Rejoice that you are saved by what God thinks of you not what the person who is upset thinks of you.9. You might lovingly ask the person if they have considered that there is another interpretation to the situation. Here you may need to walk carefully because unfortunately the way some people rebuke can make this seem like you are being defensive and make it harder for the other person to hear. Perhaps say that you are happy to think about what they are saying, leave it at that, and then ask if you can get together later and at that point share your perspective. You might ask them if it would help them for you to share some other facts that might aid them in looking at the situation.10. Learn what you can from their poor confrontation and try as hard as you can not to make the same mistakes when you need to confront others.