Misunderstandings

Matthew 18:15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.” 

It is not necessarily a sin to have differences of opinion. There are issues where there is not a clear right or wrong – like choosing which fast-food restaurant you like the most.   So it is okay to agree-to-disagree in many instances.

The verse from Matthew is very clear, “IF your brother sins...” If you do approach a Christian with some issue that you see is wrong, you better make sure it actually IS wrong.  As well, this should be a sin that is more habitual to that person... more of a lifestyle choice which is damaging to themselves, as well as others.

 Most of us have a pretty good idea when we’ve made a mistake, so we do not need someone to point out all our tiny slip-ups. When you do notice someone else’s sins – ALWAYS believe the best! Assume the best of them, AND if you need to know, or want to address the issue with them – approach THEM in private to discuss it.

 I have seen many instances get out of hand, and then in the end, find out it was a simple misunderstanding. I had a friend who was once avoiding me for some reason.  Finally I cornered her and asked if I had done something wrong. Apparently she had waved at me one Sunday and I had totally ignored her. Ah! Well, that was because I had not been wearing my contact lenses that day and did not even see her. Something so simple could have still caused grief for many years to come. Of course, she could have shortened her time of distress exponentially by coming to talk to me that very day she saw me “ignore” her. The best and easiest approach for her to have taken would have been, “Hey, I was waving at you, and you SEEMED to have been ignoring me. Is anything wrong?”

Even though it is very scary to approach a person, with the chance to hear that you may have done something wrong – and may have to apologize for something - it is so worth it in the end.