Have you ever had a truly honest friend? We’re not talking about one who will tell you that you have spinach in your teeth, toilet paper stuck to your shoe or that your jeans actually do make you look pudgy. We’re talking about the one who will pull you aside and tell you that your snippy attitude at lunch hurt some feelings. Or, point out toxic elements in a relationship that you are too emotionally blind to notice. This is the one who will not take, “Fine” as a rote response in answer to, “How are you?”

 

Do you have a friend like that? Are you a friend like that?

 

King David had a friend like that. In 2 Samuel 12, a prophet named Nathan told David a thinly-veiled story about a rich man who stole a sheep (more like a family pet) from a poor man and then cooked it for dinner. David was incensed and proclaimed that such a man should die. Then, Nathan revealed that the rich thief in the story was actually him. Nathan honestly and accurately held David accountable for his sin.

 

There is a difference between judging and discerning. Judging people means assuming that you know their motives, so you jump to conclusions about them. Discerning is similar to judging, but it is fine-tuned. It does not mean ignoring an issue; rather, you filter what you observe to determine whether or not it is sin. Judgment is a twin of hypocrisy, while discernment goes hand-in-hand with integrity and mercy.

 

It sure is easier to dish out judgment than to take it, isn’t it? Let’s be candid in our prayer time this week and invite the Lord to speak to our hearts: