2-20-14 Quirky Friends
Proverbs 17:9
Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
Such a simple verse that everyone can agree with, but in all actuality it’s kind of hard to do! I think it’s the “dwelling on it part.” Especially for girls! We hate to be misunderstood. We love to justify ourselves. We hate being wrong. So not “dwelling on it” sort of goes against our nature. We think we have to “get to the bottom of it,” or that the other person “has to know,” and that we’re “just telling it like it is.” But we are most interested in these points only if we’re sure the investigation will end in our favor. Sad but true.
The NIV states Proverbs 17:9 this way: Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
In God’s economy, I should be more concerned with covering over an offense than anything else. Paul calls it making allowances for each other’s faults.
Colossians 3:13 - Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Of course this is not talking about mass murder or actual abuse. These are day to day little offenses that come with just being around people. God doesn’t want us to be so touchy. It’s better to let these little things go and excuse someone’s quirks because I am quirky too!
1 Peter 4:8 says, “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.”
Covering over an offense is the opposite of broadcasting it or holding a grudge. And God makes it perfectly clear what happens when we choose not to forgive faults. Dwelling on it separates close friends. Whether I am the dweller or the dwell-ee that friendship isn’t going to make it without God’s brand of love between us.
Dear God,
I thank you for the friendships that I have. I thank you for your view on friendship and that I am not doomed by my womanly sinful nature to sever my relationships by the drive to be right all the time. I can overlook someone’s quirkiness and pray that they will overlook mine. Thank you that you don’t hold things against me, and help me not to do that to others. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Proverbs 17:9
Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
Such a simple verse that everyone can agree with, but in all actuality it’s kind of hard to do! I think it’s the “dwelling on it part.” Especially for girls! We hate to be misunderstood. We love to justify ourselves. We hate being wrong. So not “dwelling on it” sort of goes against our nature. We think we have to “get to the bottom of it,” or that the other person “has to know,” and that we’re “just telling it like it is.” But we are most interested in these points only if we’re sure the investigation will end in our favor. Sad but true.
The NIV states Proverbs 17:9 this way: Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
In God’s economy, I should be more concerned with covering over an offense than anything else. Paul calls it making allowances for each other’s faults.
Colossians 3:13 - Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Of course this is not talking about mass murder or actual abuse. These are day to day little offenses that come with just being around people. God doesn’t want us to be so touchy. It’s better to let these little things go and excuse someone’s quirks because I am quirky too!
1 Peter 4:8 says, “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.”
Covering over an offense is the opposite of broadcasting it or holding a grudge. And God makes it perfectly clear what happens when we choose not to forgive faults. Dwelling on it separates close friends. Whether I am the dweller or the dwell-ee that friendship isn’t going to make it without God’s brand of love between us.
Dear God,
I thank you for the friendships that I have. I thank you for your view on friendship and that I am not doomed by my womanly sinful nature to sever my relationships by the drive to be right all the time. I can overlook someone’s quirkiness and pray that they will overlook mine. Thank you that you don’t hold things against me, and help me not to do that to others. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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