May 28

May 28 - Today from Proverbs 28 we look at verse 23
"He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue."

Once again we are to remind ourselves that this section of Proverbs was written particularly for those in positions of authority and responsibility over others. We also do well to remember that those who hold such positions are to have an attitude of servitude. When one is a servant with authority, one's responsibility is for the betterment of the structure in and for which they serve. As believers, we are all ultimately serving in the Kingdom of God, from whom all authority comes. We must be careful not to abuse that authority on any level.
We begin with the premise that there has been committed an infraction upon the protocol or the moral code of the structure. We do not know whether it was intentional, or whether it was committed out of ignorance. One thing is sure, it is the responsibility of someone in authority to address it. The picture that the original Hebrew wording draws is quite revealing. 'Rebuke' means 'be right'. 'Flattering' means 'make smooth'. I would say that in most instances it is initially easier for the leadership to smooth an issue over than it is to make the situation right. To smooth it over is to avoid conflict. To make it right is to engage the conflict.

The gardener looked at the uniformity of the rows of growing plants. In a few months there would be a harvest of delicious vegetables. But, there were some stubborn weeds poking up here and there. It hadn't rained for some days now and the ground was relatively hard. He reached down and pulled at a few of the weeds. They broke off at ground level. Now he would have to walk all the way back to the shed, get a cultivating tool, loosen the soil around the plants to get out the roots of the broken weeds as well as to properly pull the rest. He didn't have time today. He had a plane to catch. But, he wanted the garden to look nice, so he quickly pulled at the rest of the weeds and most broke off at ground level. He used the soul of his shoe to smooth over the ground where the stems of the weeds had been just moments ago. Ah-h-h-h. The garden looked beautiful. He would be back in a week or so, he would tend to the weeds then. He'd better get inside, it was beginning to rain . . .

Now, if any of you have ever tended a garden, you know what happened. Long before the novice gardener returned, the weeds quickly grew back in and began choking out the potential fruit-bearing plants. The problem here was that the gardener’s responsibility wasn't simply to make the garden look nice every time he visited the garden. His responsibility was to the vegetable plants themselves, to make sure they had every chance to be healthy and grow, and to bring forth fruitfulness in their time. The gardener was to 'serve' the plants in order that the plants would produce the desired effect.
Leadership is more than making the garden look nice. Sometimes the cultivator has to come out, and the ground disturbed and broken up in order to get at unseen roots of bothersome issues. In the short-term it may seem like it's more bother than it's worth. "Let's all just be nice to each other, love one another, and this thing will go away." There, we snapped off that weed. Let's get on with life. But, unless the root has been dealt with, that weed will come back again to haunt the garden. We see it so clearly in nature, but so many refuse to see it in human nature.
The next time there is conflict in your area of authority, stop and take a good objective look at the situation. Look beyond the heated emotions and seek the root of the matter. I readily admit that it will take more time and effort to address the root than it would be to say, "We all make mistakes. Let's just shake hands, tell each other we're sorry, and move on." But dealt with properly, in the long run your garden will produce desired results, and you will benefit from it.
Remember it this way, God gave you souls on your shoes to carry the Good News, not to smooth over undisturbed roots. He gave you a cultivator for that. Use it, and use it wisely.
The church is God's garden. The enemy continually seeds the weeds of conflict into the cultivated soil. It is not honoring to simply break off the visible part of the conflict without exposing and getting rid of the root. Leaders are to serve the fruit-bearing plants of the garden in order to see them come to maturity. It does not serve the plants well just to cover over issues of conflict. Leaders need to think long-term in their areas of responsibility. They need to make things right under the soil, where it counts.