Wednesday, June 02, 2004

Two times in two days I came across the following quote...

"Love without truth is hypocrisy. Truth without love is brutality."

And I think about this verse:

"Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed.  Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." Proverbs 27:5-6

Matthew Henry's commentary says...

"It is good for us to be reproved, and told of our faults, by our friends. If true love in the heart has but zeal and courage enough to show itself in dealing plainly with our friends, and reproving them for what they say and do amiss, this is really better, not only than secret hatred (as Lev. 19:17), but than secret love, that love to our neighbours which does not show itself in this good fruit, which compliments them in their sins, to the prejudice of their souls. Faithful are the reproofs of a friend, though for the present they are painful as wounds. It is a sign that our friends are faithful indeed if, in love to our souls, they will not suffer sin upon us, nor let us alone in it. "

Loving honesty leads to healthy relationships. I want my friends to tell me the truth... what I need to hear, not just what they think I want to hear. Honesty involves risk. But true friends are willing to take that risk.

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