SCRIPTURE:
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.
1 Timothy 1:3-5
13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13:1
OBSERVATION:
Correction. We all need it, and we’ll all do it. But what is the goal of correction? Is it compliance? Is it coercion? Or is it something else?
The apostle Paul writes his first epistle to Timothy to encourage Timothy as he leads the church at Ephesus as a young adult. Despite his youth, God had a difficult-yet-necessary assignment for Timothy: correction. At the time of its writing, the church at Ephesus suffered from false teachers, false doctrines, and a culture that promoted these false teachings. As he begins his letter to Timothy, Paul reminds him of God’s assignment of correction, that God had assigned him to “command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies” because “such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work” (1 Timothy 1:3-4).
However, Paul does not stop there at “what” Timothy is to do; he reminds Timothy “why” he is to do it: love. “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5). Simply put, the goal of correction is love. And this love is achieved through having a pure heart and a sincere faith. Pure and simple.
APPLICATION:
When you correct others, what is your motivation? Is it self-righteousness? Superiority? Wanting to be better than someone? Or is it love? For if your correction is motivated by anything other than love, you’re missing the point.
We all need correction. As shared in Proverbs 15:32, “those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.” Because of our flesh, we are imperfect. Thus, we need correction and should submit to correction. However, how we correct someone is just as important as whether we correct someone, for as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:1, “if I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” Correction without love is destructive; correction with love is constructive.
Correct in love, correct with love, and correct for the sake of love. And that’s not just for when you correct others––that’s also for when you need to be corrected yourself. You’re not perfect, and that’s okay. You weren’t meant to be perfect. Only Jesus is perfect. Be open to correction, heed biblically-wise correction, and have grace for yourself when you are in need of correction. God has unconditional love and unlimited grace for you when you fall short––and you should too.
PRAYER:
God,
Thank You for the gift of correction. Thank You for correcting me in love, grace, and truth. When you call me to bring correction to others, help me to do it in love. If I do not have love or have the wrong motivation, please stop me in my tracks. Likewise, when I need to be corrected, help me to have love and grace for myself, as you have for me. For the goal of correction is not coercion; it is Your perfect love. Thank You for loving me––may I, too, be a vessel of Your love, even in correction.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
