Are you aware that you have a cheerleader and a crowd of witnesses surrounding, supporting, and cheering you on? Well… you do. I would argue that we all need this – that we need others in our lives who will be brave enough to tell us truth, who will risk angering or hurting us as well as loudly supporting us in whatever we are doing. A wishy washy cheerleader is never worth having – just how much would you trust them?
We all need people who do tell us what they think. Perhaps they don’t always verbalize it unless asked, but you also know that if we walked out into the traffic and are about to get hurt, they will try to ‘rescue’ us or pull us to safety. This is a sort of backstop for us and it’s your church family. At least it can be, should be if you allow yourself to be vulnerable to being wrong and who you are.
You can never look at their words as threats. If this is what you feel then they haven’t done their responsibility. Yes we are there to correct fellow brothers and sisters, we are to speak the truth in love – but we aren’t there to make the (their) decision nor to add to their pain. And if the situation is reversed and you are the one being a faithful brother or sister, you aren’t there to chastise them but to help them to see truth. This is part of their responsibility to you and yours toward them.
Some of the verses available in scripture to provide a guide to HOW to correct are: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, 1 Timothy 5:20, 2 Thessalonians 3:15, 2 Timothy 4:2,
2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 3:16, 1 Timothy 5:1-2. which can be summed up in Philippians 2:3-5
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self- righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this same attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus [look to Him as your example in selfless humility],”
And then there are those of us who occasionally need support, or an encouragement. Granted we act on the scripture that God tells us that He will never leave us. But we also need those around us to cheer us on, especially in difficult situation or to help bind up the wounds when we are injured. But I always feel that the greatest benefit comes when we have those in our lives that we trust to speak truth as they know it and love for us that they would speak rather than let us make a harmful mistake.
A cheerleader does both. Corrects us and Encourages us… and we need them to do both, as should we. The ultimate decision is always ours, but Proverbs does tell us that
“Without consultation and wise advice, plans are frustrated, But with many counselors they are established and succeed.” [Proverbs 15:22]
The right decision at the right time comes from a type of accountability that is based in those who speak to stop us and to encourage us. This is who and what Cheerleaders do!
