Proverbs 27:5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.

What good does love do you if you do not know it exists?

An open rebuke gives you an opportunity to explore problems. Maybe the rebuke is justified, maybe it is not, but if your brother feels strongly about your behavior, the honesty of a rebuke places conditions on the table where they can be examined and dealt with.

Have you heard the term milquetoast Christian? It is hard to get them to express any zeal at all about their beliefs. They express nothing for fear of confrontation. One does not have to be confrontational in a rebuke. It can be as simple as saying, “That hurt.”

While 1 Corinthians 13 says that love is not easily offended, it does not say that it cannot be offended. If an offense is received, then it should be voiced, otherwise it is secret love.

I will tell you what hurts me worse than an honest rebuke; that is when someone turns their back on me and walks away. That is rejection. I’ve had to deal with many rejections in my life and it hurts worse than a slap in the face, or a punch in the gut.

But how would you know if I suffered rejection if I kept quiet? You would not know. Such is many of the wounds of our past that are opened by the thoughtless acts of others. There is no slight, no direct intention, unless it is voiced.

Philippians 2:1-3 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.