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"So you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, you shall give them warning from Me. If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul." (Ezekiel 33:7-9 ESV)
This has to be one of the hardest things to do for someone you love—to inform them, straight out, that they are doing something sinful and they need to stop. At least it's difficult if you love the person and don't want to hurt their feelings. But then, what's worse—hurting their feelings temporarily, or allowing them to continue without warning until they wind up in a world of hurt?
Because that's what sin does. It hurts people—the person doing the sin maybe most of all. And those of us who love someone who is involved in a major sin can't just stay silent and do nothing. That wouldn't be love, would it?
So what can we do? We can go to the Lord and pray for the courage and the right words to speak to the person we love. Then we can speak, or write, or text, or whatever it takes to say, "Hey, I love you, and that's why I'm telling you that this thing you're involved in is no good. You need to stop it. Please."
Once we've done that, it's out of our hands. The person will listen or not listen, just as they choose. We can't force them to do the right thing. But we have to at least let them know what we're seeing.
To really love someone takes courage, sometimes. And when we can't find the courage to do this ourselves, we can cry out to Jesus to supply it—because He's been down this road before. He loves us dearly, and for that very reason He came into our world—to confront us with our sin, and then to take it away from us forever, if only we will let Him—to replace it with His own love and forgiveness and mercy and eternal life.
That's what the cross was about. It wasn't easy. It cost Him His life. But that's how much He loves us. And that's how much He can love others through us—when we ask Him to help us.
We Pray: Dear Lord, give me the courage and wisdom to speak to [name] in this really difficult situation. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on September 5, 2023
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights
Reflection Questions:
1. Do you find it easy or hard to speak to someone who's caught up in a major sin?
2. Why do you feel that way?
3. If you feel comfortable telling the story, when has someone been a blessing to you by telling you that you were on the wrong road?
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