The Paradox of Rebuke: Pleasurably Painful

One of the things about the Bible that I love is how it rebukes people. There's nothing quite so invigorating and illuminating as a piercing, penetrating declaration that you're wrong which, at that moment of delivery, is self-evident and undeniable. This is the moment of confession, except it's a bit less voluntary. But that's the beauty: ever been at least partially relieved when your cover's been blown unexpectedly? You did want to come clean, and you're ashamed now that it's in the open, but the relief that comes not only from not having to maintain appearances but from actually doing what's right can be intoxicating.

This kind of thing is not unique to Christianity; the same can be said of true friends: when you're wrong and they have the courage to confront you in a truthful but winsome way, the pain they inflict can be excruciating but you love them for it. There's a kind of life that comes in the midst of that part of yourself that dies in such a moment. As if to woo those who follow other faiths, the Scriptures speak to human-, not just Christian-, experience: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; deceitful are the kisses of an enemy." (Prov 27:6)

A few such passages of late for me have been in the Hebrew book of Proverbs:

Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;
he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin. (13:3)

A soft answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger. (15:1)

A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. (15:4)

A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,
but he who is slow to anger quiets contention. (15:18)

You see the thread that runs through this canvass. And as if that weren't enough, I was reminded that to let such rebukes go unheaded would only further my ruin:

Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself,

but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded. (13:13)

And yet, amidst all the "threats" and embarassment and shame and regret, there is an inexplicable sweetness in my soul: I'm clean, forgiven, and less blind to my sins as I was yesterday and even this morning, and best of all I've been freed from such prisons to preserve my life, give soft answers, speak gently, and quiet contention. I'm not only free from doing only bad but also free to do what's good and sweet to others' souls as well. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

BHT