“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Matthew 7:6
As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.
Proverbs 26:11
Loving in the way of Jesus means joining God’s work in someone’s life, not forcing God’s work onto their life.
Loving sometimes means prioritizing relationship over rightness.
"There is no force in the world better able to alter anything from its course than love…you can get someone to remove his coat more surely with a warm, gentle sun than with a cold, blistering wind…Meeting the world with a loving heart will determine what we find there. We mistakenly place our trust, too often, in the righteousness of our wind, though we rarely get evidence that this ever transforms anything."
- Gregory Boyle “Tattoos on the Heart”
Do not speak to fools, for they will scorn your prudent words.
Proverbs 23:9
No matter how good your advice is, some people just don’t want to hear it.
People need to want to change in order to change.
Your wisdom is much more valued when it’s asked for.
We shouldn’t expect others to hold to the same values and convictions.
What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside.
I Corinthians 5:12-13
Meet hostility with love.
Prayer
Action
