Year 8, Day 86: 2 Corinthians 2 & 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Every single good parent will tell you that there is a difference between hurt and harm.  Hurting someone means that you occasionally do something that another person doesn’t like.  Harming them means that you are doing damage – physical, emotional, relational, etc – to them.  Any parent that has sent a child to timeout, who has grounded a teenager, or who has gotten up from a dinner out and left before it was over because their child was throwing a tantrum knows this truth.  When we implement discipline, it can hurt.  But discipline in love does not harm.  It teaches.

That’s what Paul is talking about in this chapter.  When we confront one another in spiritual truth, we should not intend harm.  We do not want to cause damage.  What we want to do is to give time to think, consider actions, and perhaps change a position or course of action.  It hurts to receive correction, but properly given correction actually strengthens people and the relationships that bind them together.

This is even more true when we talk about forgiveness and add that to the conversation.  When we have experienced a few hard times of correction and we realize that relationship does go on and we do move past our mistakes, we can deal with correction even easier.  If I realize that the person I am correcting loves me as a brother, it is easier to step in and work for positive change in their life.  If I am corrected by someone that I ultimately know loves me as a brother, it is easier to take the correction.

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