Feedback

Last Sunday Mike preached on the Golden Rule. I know that this rule is a good one to live by, but I wonder if people really want me to treat them the way I want to be treated. – I want to be told the truth. I want to be confronted if necessary; even at the risk of getting my feelings hurt. If I have done something to offend or disappoint someone, I want them to tell me. If I am behaving in a way that could be damaging to my quality of life, I want to be confronted with this. * When I was a freshman at ACC a friend of mine pointed out to me that when I say “Meskin” instead of “Mexican” it sounds disrespectful; perhaps even racist. I assured him that I did not intend the least bit of disrespect, but that it had simply never occurred to me to pronounce the word any other way. I tried pronouncing the word using the three syllables and hard X. The first few times I did this it sounded strange, but I stuck with it. I changed. – I am thankful that my friend pointed out to me this questionable behavior so that I could alter my actions and improve my life. * It seems to me though that we as Christians are often reluctant to provide helpful feedback to others. We excuse ourselves from doing so, saying it is none of our business, or we do not want to hurt someone’s feelings. Or we wimp out, saying “If I tell him this thing he will probably just get mad at me.” * Some people hire life coaches or join accountability groups in order to get helpful personal advice on how to improve their lives. Shouldn’t the church be an accountability group? Shouldn’t we as Christians love each other enough to provide potentially life enriching feedback and advice?