Monday 31st March

I got told off the other day.  By someone I respect and like and whos opinion I value.  They had seen a facebook post I had copied from somewhere which contained a swear word in the title.  So they messaged me to let me know they were disappointed with me.

Nobody likes to be told off.  And I have to confess my immediate reaction was to justify myself - even though I knew fine well that there was no justification really.  She was right, I was wrong.  I should have removed the offending word.  It probably wouldnt have taken any effort at all.  Truth is I couldnt be bothered and I didnt think anyone would notice or mind.  But someone did both notice and mind.   I dont think she was particularly shocked by the word - lets face it we all hear the words all the time all over the place. What she minded I think was that I was not behaving ' up to standard'.  I was ' letting the side down' by associating myself with something coarse and vulgar.

I knew all of this but it still took me a full 24 hours before I was able to stop justifying my actions to myself and just admit that I had made an error of judgement.  And remove the offending post.  And then go back and thank her for calling me out on it.

Being a Christian isnt about being comfortable.  Its about being accountable and Christlike.  Its impossible to become Christlike without people round us who will be tough on us when we fall short.  Who will tell us the truth when everyone else is fudging the issue.  Who will argue with us when they sincerely believe we are wrong.  I deeply respect people who will take me on and stare me down because they genuinely want me to be the best person I can be.  The world excels at compromise and lukewarm and shoddy unrighteousness.  I want to be better than that.