Day 41 Clumsy Dealings

                                     (see also Art of Standing Aside,  Control)

 “…do not let any words of the Scriptures be occasions for gibbeting his faults. It is the office of the Holy Ghost to convince of sin; and He is able to use the Word for this purpose, without risk of that hardening of the heart in which our clumsy dealings too often result.”

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“The parent must not make blundering, witless efforts: as this is the highest duty imposed upon him, it is also the most delicate; and he will have infinite need of faith and prayer, tact and discretion, humility, gentleness, love, and sound judgement, if he would present his child to God, and the thought of God to the soul of his child.” 
 

                                                   *
 
“Moreover, the person who has really listened and served and borne with others is the very one who is likely to say nothing. A profound distrust of everything that is merely verbal often causes a personal word to a brother to be suppressed. What can weak human words accomplish for others? Why add to the empty talk? Are we like the professionally pious, to talk away the other person’s real need? Is there anything more perilous than speaking God’s word to excess? 
  
                                                  ~ Bonhoeffer
 

Examen: Am I clear on the role of the Holy Spirit vs. my role in another’s flourishing?  What are the dangers? Does this surprise me?

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...do not let:  Charlotte M. Mason,  Home Education, 1:349.
The parent must not: 1:345.
Moreover, the person: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian in Community, 1st edition (HarperOne, 2009), 104.

​Day 41 Clumsy Dealings meditation/100 Days copyright Laurie Bestvater 2025

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