Zechariah 5

Before you read:  Read Zechariah Chapter 5. 

Hurt Feelings:

Zechariah 5:4 – “The LORD Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.’” (NIV)

I can still remember when my daughter was a toddler, and she would tell me how much I hurt her feelings when we disciplined her.  The story went like this:  She fails to listen to her mom or dad, we discipline her, and she responds with lots of tears and hurt feelings.  As her parents, we are not trying to hurt her feelings; we are disciplining her because she is acting disobediently. 

We live in a time when everyone has hurt feelings.  I sometimes tiptoe around sharing the truth with people because I don’t want to hurt their feelings.  While it is good for us to share truth with love and grace, we must recognize that God’s truth does not change regardless of our feelings.  We need to hear God’s truth so that the truth of God can correct our crooked ways. 

God’s truth is unwavering, but our approach to sharing it should be filled with love and grace. Let's not apologize for the truth of God’s word but share it in a way that reflects the compassion and understanding that God shows us.

Prayer:  Lord, thank you for this reminder that you do in fact judge sin.  Clean my heart, point out anything in me that is incompatible with you.