Whenever I hear these words, I am wary.
Give me a minute to explain.
Henri Nouwen, in his book Out of Solitude says,
“When we honestly ask ourselves which people in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.”
Pondering that quote I think of the commands we hear in our culture,
“Be kind.” “Be nice.” “Be loving.”
But to these I would say,
“Be wary.”
Keeping these commands should first be practiced by the one giving them. According to Zechariah 7:9 truth, justice, kindness, and mercy are intended to go together. If Christians are to practice these ideals perhaps we could begin with the line from Titus 3.2,
“be ready for every good work, speak evil of no one, avoid quarreling, be gentle, and show perfect courtesy toward all people.
Thanks for spending this minute with me, Dr. Mark Eckel.
Mark Eckel (MA English, ThM Old Testament, PhD Social Science Research) is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration, Liberty University.
“Give Me a Minute” is an ongoing effort to simply, clearly, and quickly explain aspects of true Truth.
Gratitude, as always, to my longtime friend, videographer, and tech guru Josh for his continued service.