“A simple, humble life with peace and quiet is far better than an opulent lifestyle with nothing but quarrels and strife at home. In the same way that gold and silver are refined by fire, the Lord purifies your heart by the tests and trials of life. Love overlooks the mistakes of others, but dwelling on the failures of others devastates friendships. One word of correction breaks open a teachable heart, but a fool can be corrected a hundred times and still not know what hit him. A dear friend will love you no matter what, and a family sticks together through all kinds of trouble.”
Proverbs 17:1, 3, 9-10, 17 TPT
https://bible.com/bible/1849/pro.17.1-17.TPT
REFLECTION
It’s interesting to me how one verse urges us to ‘overlook the mistakes of others’ and yet another verse tells us that ‘One word of correction breaks open a teachable heart’ …so how does that actually play out in real life? I’ve found that these two verses can merge together when, by the grace of God, we encourage others (and ourselves) to learn from failures (as opposed to dwelling on them) and support them in their growth (and ours) by speaking the truth in love, recognising that we are all in an ongoing process of transformation.
PRAYER POEM: Grace
Lord ~ teach me, correct me and lead me into deeper intimacy.
Keep me close to You ~ far from sin and strife, for Your grace is sufficient in the tests and trials of life.
May Your love be my language in every situation, for You are the loving Lord of all creation.
