Thought to Ponder: Reward of Confrontation
“Do not reject the Lord’s discipline.”
Pr 3:11 NCV The Bible says, “Do not reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t get angry when he corrects you. The Lord corrects those he loves, just as parents correct the child they delight in” (vv. 11-12 NCV). Because God loves you, when He sees things in your life that could potentially damage you and other people, He deals with them. Paul writes, “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God” (Ro 11:22 NKJV). God will deal with you gently, but if you don’t listen He may have to deal with you severely. That’s because He has too much invested in you to let you fail. And not only does God confront us, He expects us to confront one another when we’re in the wrong. Paul stood up to Peter, his fellow leader, in front of Jewish and Gentile believers because the issue was important to their mission’s success (See Gal 2:14). Healthy confrontation results in six things: (1) Clarification. You get a better understanding of the person and what happened. (2) Change. Hopefully improvement will come from it—and the improvement may be in you! (3) An improved relationship. Handled correctly, confrontation will deepen your relationship with the other person. (4) Purity. As word gets out, the organization will be purified and sobered. (5) Respect. People will appreciate and respect your leadership even more. (6) Security. They’ll feel safe knowing that you’re strong enough to take a stand when it counts. People want a leader who says, “When there’s a problem I’ll deal with it directly, promptly, and respectfully. I’ll help correct the situation and get us back on track.” (bob gass)