Bible in 90 Days – Day 9 – Leviticus 15-27
“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.” Leviticus 19:17 ESV
Conflict avoidance can lead to sin.
When God set up the laws for His holy nation, he forbade conflict avoidance. This principle continues in the new covenant (e.g. Romans 12:16-18).
Patrick Lencioni observes that when you disagree with someone, you have two options, and only two: 1) remain silent quietly lose respect for the person (forbidden by this ordinance), or 2) Engage the conflict. You must speak up in a spirit of seeking understanding. So whether it is a rebuke for sin, or seeking to understand a contrary opinion about a debatable matter, we must reason together (not simply argue), and we must do so frankly. Don’t beat around the bush.
(I’m closing out 2017 by reading through the Bible in 90 days. I’ll be attempting to post a verse and a brief reflection from each days reading. You can follow the whole series here.)