If you’re a chess or checkers player, I bet you’ve noticed how much easier you spot a bad move when you are just watching a match, than when you yourself are playing. To me, it is very similar in life. Often, others notice when we do wrong faster than we do. The truth is that we all do wrong at one time or another, some of us more often than others. Romans 3:10 reads: “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.” and Romans 3:23 adds: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” If that were not enough to convince us, John wrote the following in his first epistle, not his gospel, to the church: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8-10) Even after being told this truth is repeated often in the Bible, some will still say something silly like “Not my grandma, she was an angel of God!” A super-spiritual type once boasted to his friend: “There are two things I never do; I never sin and I never lie!” His friend replied: “That’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard!” All this leads me to bring up a wrongdoing many of us commit from time to time. I am referring to staying quiet or “letting it slide” when a friend or loved one does something wrong. It is exasperating when we see certain people defend the actions of someone they love, even when it is obvious to all that they have done wrong. Look, none of us likes to be corrected or is overjoyed when someone points out our wrongdoings. On top of that, some of us are not very good at accepting criticism or correction. Nevertheless, our true friends will quickly bring it to our attention, when we do something wrong. If we stay quiet or “let it slide” when our friends do wrong, we’re not as good a friend as we think we are. Instead of doing good by them, we are actually hurting them. I heard one of my favorite radio pastors say this last Sunday: “Some will point out your mistakes because they hate you; others will do it because they love you.” Do you really love your friends and loved ones? Bring it to their attention quickly when they err, and pray to God they will do the same for you when you “mess up.” God’s word for today:

(Proverbs 27:6) “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”