Anybody ever cut you with their words and then followed up with,
“Sometimes I am too straightforward for my own good.”
Their own good??
You were the one who was hurt. They hurt you. And they’re talking about “too straightforward for their own good”??
Being straightforward for the good of a friend is a good thing.
But please hear me: The calling to speak into someone’s life does not come with a license to hurt. But only as an opportunity to encourage.
Because when the straightforwardness is felt more than the words are heard the recipient is left wounded and the wounder is left wondering why friendships are so difficult for them.
If we’re followers of Jesus, yes, we are called to speak the truth. So we speak the truth, sometimes rather straightforwardly, but we always speak it in and with love for the purpose of building up and not tearing down.
Ever been too straightforward for “your own good“?
Maybe you could take a minute to pray.
Ask God to forgive you and give you grace to speak truth that is bathed in love.
That’s the kind of straightforwardness that’s good both for the speaker and the hearer.
Jody Flowers 