Job 15:1-3 – “Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:  ² “Does a wise man answer with blustery knowledge, or fill his belly with the east wind?  ³ Does he argue with useless talk, with words that have no value in them?”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, I was drawn to a thought as I went to bed: “Contemplating.” 

 In Job 15:2-3, Eliphaz, one of Job’s comforters (sic), addressed something worthy of contemplating.  The thought was:  What we say, even if it is right, theology can be lost by how we say it and our attitude.  If we present truth with an attitude of arrogance (in-your-face correction), what we say may be true, but those we are trying to inform or correct only hear our self-righteousness, judgmentalism, and lack of love, mercy, and grace.

The right truth can get lost in how we present that truth.  Tragically, sometimes personality becomes the focus, and people put up walls and barriers, which prevent them from hearing the needed revelation.

God is all about truth, but that truth comes through love, mercy, and grace.  If we speak truth in humility with a heart that desires to help and restore, we are ten thousand times more likely to be heard than to wield our hammer of harshness. Love draws!

God wants no one to perish, NO ONE!  According to 2 Peter 3:9, this is why Jesus’ return has been delayed as long as it has.  God is giving people every possible opportunity to repent and return.  Our assignment is to bring them light.  If we become judgmental and revel in being harsh and confrontational, they are repelled; but if we, in humility, gentleness, and love, give them the truth, they might have been saved.

My heart breaks when I hear of men and women of God falling into moral or doctrinal error.  If I attack them with anger, they nor their followers hear me.  My hostility and seeming self-righteousness repel, and the message is lost.  But, if I present the truth in love without making it about personalities, I have a chance to get through to some and rescue them.

How we say something is as important as what we say.  Sometimes, the package becomes the focus rather than the content.   In preaching, I strive to ensure that the message far outshines the messenger. Lord, help us decrease so You can increase in all we do.  Think of the times you have heard a needed truth, but the delivery or the one delivering it was so distracting that you did not hear it.

Lord, help us to ‘contemplate’ Your truth and demonstrate You Character in everything!