Alright, first things first this has been a week of correction for me both professionally and spiritually speaking. If you could describe my week in two words it is: Red Ink. I was working on a demanding engagement team and receiving ample amounts of constructive feedback and I'm not gonna' lie - it was challenging. I wrestled with the idea that my teacher/manager provided too much feedback that I wrestled with the in between of whether or not it was personal. I knew it wasn't personal, but I got frustrated over the feedback I was getting because I thought I was doing my best. But, thankfully, his demands were greater and his belief in how I could perform was greater than the current level I was performing at. Thus, he challenged me. He sharpened me, with pressure, with graceful feedback, with encouragement, with advice, etc. We wrapped up this prior Friday with a feedback sesh' over key things for the both of us to improve upon. I shared with him how I was frustrated with the feedback, inside, that I was receiving from coworkers but how much at the same time I appreciated the feedback because it was making me better and sharper. But that's a good teacher as he was always so firm in his feedback and ability to coach both of us new hires.
Now, on the spiritual side of things I had preached a message at a local addiction hospital I have the privilege of volunteering at alongside my church family last week on Sunday. I was preaching the word I perceived God to be giving me at the time and delivering it how I thought I was supposed to. Fast forward to today, Sunday, and I'm back volunteering again and this time I'm sitting and watching an Elder from our church speak and lead our ministry to gracefully allow Scripture to correct the mistake in teaching I had made the week earlier all while delivering two powerful messages that encouraged and that God used to #TKG - Take Kingdom Ground - in quite a few individual lives today. Ya'll... I was low key kind of squirming inside about my misstep in last week's message as I listened to the message... like I messed up and didn't preach the Word of God like it was written. I was disappointed in myself like I failed God or something. But after church I was taken to a place in 2 Timothy 3:16 "Every scripture is inspired by God and is useful teaching, for showing mistakes, for correcting, and for training character, so that the person who belongs to God can be equipped to do everything that is good."
So, my question today is are we Cool with Correction? I'm down here with you answering that question myself, so we're in this together. But can I just speak into the BLESSING of correction?
Because some of us out here need feedback. Candid feedback. But if you don't know how to take the feedback with grace and alongside the idea that it is there to sharpen you then you do not understand the blessing that comes with correction! Because if a brother or sister in Christ shares with you that your belief in something regarding your faith is not in line with what Scripture says, are you gonna do what Simon Says (AKA yourself/wordly or other humanly beliefs) or are you gonna' believe what the Scripture says. Because at the end of the day what Simon SAYS is not always what Scripture says! Because Simon will sometimes say to touch your head, hop, jump three times, right foot this time, left foot this time, reverse! Reverse! Everybody clap your hands, and repeat what he says... but Scripture says somethings along the lines of 'go and fast and pray and seek God every day in the upper room...' Or Simon will sometimes say things like 'God hates gays', twisting things from what the Scripture actually says...often times Simon Says misleading things or encourages misleading inappropriate actions a lot of the the time that then people grasp onto and mimic themselves. So, if a brother says to you and pulls out some Scripture to bring context to what you’re talking about ya gotta' listen and let God correct you through the brother so it doesn't mislead other people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Says (for those of us who do not recall who this Simon guy is and what he is saying - this is for you! Also, no, it's not Simon Cowell from American Idol).
Here’s the thing about Godly correction and WHEN we receive it and or give it is that we have to humble ourselves to receive it...
Because the mentorship and feedback and or correction you RECEIVE in the future depends on the fixing and reception you take towards the correction you received today. If I’m a mentor and discipler of people I want those I’m mentoring to respond to my grace filled criticism or rebuke towards actual Truth and do something about it. If they DON’T respond, then that is on the student and not the teacher. Also, I may think twice about giving feedback to someone anymore that didn’t take my constructive feedback from the multiple times I gave it.
If I’m a teacher and I’m say grading essay papers and leaving edit remarks its because I want my students to GET better... it’s because I care enough to leave lots of red INK so they WRITE better, but it’s not out of contempt... so when you dog on your teacher for leaving you a 60% on an assignment when you got enough talent and skill in you to get a 90%+... don’t feel so bad and LOOK through the correction and MAKE the edits you need and PIVOT! Here’s the thing, theoretically speaking, those students are my students and thus belong to my classroom as a teacher. Because they belong to me as a teacher, I have a measure of authority to give feedback as I please and attempt to correct them. But if they were not my students, I'd probably think twice about correcting them if I didn't know them personally. That's what God is saying in this passage above that if you're truly His student...and you both know eachother, you'll be corrected by God and His Word so that you can be equipped to do everything that is good in His eyes.
Now, what if you're a student in a classroom or a student of God and you're given SUGGESTED edits or candid feedback?
*silence*
Because it seems like everyone wants to be mentored, but my question for us is... do WE wanna make the EDITS?!?!?!
Lots of us in the Church would love to be discipled and poured into... but will you permit God, Himself, to make the transformation happen in you???
Here’s the teacher-student role... teachers are to teach and suggest edits... but it’s the STUDENT’S job to accept the revisions and MAKE the changes...
To the teachers/mentors out there it’s not our jobs to make them do it... it’s also not our job to blare out the students mistake and publicly say specifically who they are and how they "done goofed..." its our job to gracefully hand feedback and LET them make the changes...
Here’s the thing about the student’s capacity to make edits...
The capacity to make edits and handle the rebuking means the student will have shifted fruit and experience a future blessing!
Because your capacity to receive, interpret, and APPLY the feedback or edits determines the future fruit of your labor.
So, we can look at the disciples lives... Jesus rebuked em’. He challenged them! Fast-forward past Pentecost in the book of Acts and the fruit of their refinement was revealed as the disciples led a spiritual revolution that we see today... But, before that, they were rebuked... corrected by their Cap’n. As time progressed, the process they submitted to in their walk with Christ led to thousands of others coming to the faith.
Here’s the thing about the edits is that the teacher would NEVER suggest the edits if the teacher didn’t believe the student could make the edits and GET better!
Businesses do the same thing. Sometimes the market or competition suggests the correction needed to maintain the flow in business transactions... but it’s the business’ job to RESPOND to it! So, we got Nokia and we got Blackberry and can notice that their under preparation to pay attention to the moves of the market kept them away from becoming better versions of themselves to meet the needs of their customers. You look at those companies now... they’re out of business. You don’t see Blackberries out there now in the hands of people, do ya? They didn’t see or make the timely revisions needed to keep up with the market. They didn’t pivot!
So stop looking at the edits Scripture or others give your way as a negative and replace it with the phrase of “I’m GETTING better!” “I’m GETTING to know God more.” "God is refining my character! I'm TRIED under fire... purified!"
So stop looking at the edits from the Teacher and look at it like “My character is GETTING better. My perseverance is GETTING stronger. My heart is GETTING fiercer.”
But this is why failure is the best teacher! Because its almost like God will let you fail to gracefully correct you, then sharpen you.
For example, "because now I don’t have that idea I once believed about God, because now I don’t handle relationships that way! Because now I don’t believe that same strategy is the best route for this company! Because now I don’t think that the way I once taught IT, that this is the way it needs to be taught in the future!"
We're getting better! We're GETTING better! So, I’ll let the Word of God sharpen me, I’ll let it transform my character, I’ll let it do the heart work inside, because I need to be who He is calling me to be! I want the edits, I want the shifts to do ‘everything that is GOOD!’
But my question is to all of us that identify themselves as students of Christ is: Do we, as a body/individual person, want the edits + will we make/respond to the edits?
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