COMIC: Correction That Actually Helps

Having a biblical view of right and wrong is advantageous. First of all, you are literally able to do THE right thing, and you have a pretty good guideline for grayer areas. That oftentimes translates into you telling others what to do. Again, this can be a great thing, helping another person when you both have the same worldview is, again, advantageous. Sadly, nobody looks at life exactly the same way, and everyone is tremendously different from one another due to life experiences and personalities.

That brings me to my point. The Bible tells us, in most cases, what the right course of action is. What the Bible can't include, is how we get people there in all different kinds of circumstances. It's not helpful when you only say "just do it" and judge those who don't. Does that sound ridiculous? You'd be surprised at how many Christians have said this to me without even trying to understand my circumstances.

This brings us, again, to my philosophy of a "goal-orientated mindset". You know what your goal is, in this case, it's to get someone to do the right thing and repent from the wrong thing. You must do all you can to achieve that goal. Yet I somehow see people who care more about HOW they're going about that goal than the goal itself. One example is Christians going the route of "immediate change" where they want the right thing to be done as soon as possible. Yet when this hurried approach is taken, the result is usually pretty messy. If a longwinded and nuanced approach needs to be taken that will give us a higher chance of actually achieving the goal, why should we be afraid of that?

If changing someone's bad behavior involves a long period of involvement, lots of patience, and lots of listening, why should we be afraid of that? Could it be that we are so selfish that we won't sacrifice our time and efforts for our neighbor? If all you can dish out is a harsh rebuke and not anything else, you have only done half a good deed. Half a good deed is no good deed at all. If we really are rebuking out of love, then go through the entire list of loving qualities in the Bible. If that makes you roll your eyes, then you're in no shape to correct anyone.

Listening and understanding are things that are sorely missing. I'm glad to say that I see more and more Christians come to realize this and are lending a listening ear to struggling individuals. Mental health, even within the church, is at a crisis level. There is a real danger with the way you communicate with struggling people. If you don't take the time to understand them, you will find it hard to help them properly. Heck, you may even end up harming them. People who have had a wonderful childhood and stability have NO IDEA what it feels like to be someone who grew up in an abusive household and is now struggling to pay bills. The best way to understand is to LISTEN! And then you can try to help, you're not God, your way or the highway is NOT an option.

Anyways, that spiel was my heart for this comic. I hope this will help.