Reflections: Correction not optional

With regard to my previous Reflections column about correction, further clarification on the subject is necessary, specifically around the spirit in which correction is to be given. 

What is the place you are coming from, where is your heart, why are you pursuing correction with a Christian brother or sister who has erred? It may very well be that you are sincerely coming from a place of true piety. Or, human nature be damned, your desire for correction may be rooted in pride. After all, we long to be right, and we wish others to know just how very right we are.

C.S. Lewis stated in Mere Christianity, “As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” 

Unfortunately, Christians are often guilty of the nose-in-air guise, looking down on others who they consider to be not as good as themselves (if we’re honest, we’ll admit that we have been there). 

Thankfully, the Bible provides us with specific instructions when it comes to the sensitive subject of imparting correction. First of all, we should note that correction isn’t optional; it’s necessary for a Christian’s growth. Jesus didn’t say that if a brother sins against us, we may want to talk to him about it; no, Jesus said “go and tell him his fault” (Matt. 18:15). Paul in his letter to the Galatians didn’t give the option for correction, he told them to go and help (Galatians 6:1). 

Secondly, we should note that correction is a responsibility. When Timothy was coming up against corruption and false doctrines in the early church, Paul wrote to him, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Later in the book of Hebrews (12:5-8), believers are reminded of the responsibility to correct (and the consequences of no correction).

Your first thought may be that going and confronting another believer about their sin could be awkward and hard. If you think this, then you are on the right track. The very thought that correction is difficult is an indicator that your heart is in the right place, which leads into more instruction the Bible gives regarding correction.

Thirdly, correction is to be done in love, not for selfish ambition. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 3:11-12, “My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” Parents who love their children will discipline them. 

Most parents I have spoken with will say without hesitation that correction is their least favourite part of the responsibility of being a mom or dad. Yet, correction is an integral part of development. Likewise, correction is a critical component to our Christian growth. As Christians, correction shouldn’t be one of our favourite activities (and if it is, perhaps a review of the second paragraph of today’s column is in order). 

Finally, correction should always be shared first in private between you and the person who you believe needs to be corrected. Jesus provided detailed directions in Matthew 18:15-17: “…go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone….” (v. 15). Only if the person refuses to listen are you to get others involved (vv. 16-17). If you find yourself more interested in talking about someone’s faults with everybody except that person who has done wrong, you are not interested in correction; you are a gossip.

Paul wrote that correction for someone overtaken in sin is to be given in the “spirit of meekness” (Galatians 6:1). Strength and sensitivity can co-exist when it comes to correction, and both are required as none of us is immune to sin.