I was reading today, James chapter 4. I neared the end of the chapter and had a new thought. James spoke to the tribes via this letter. He wrote the whole letter to them, to lead them and teach them. But here is the thought I had at the end of chapter 4. He spoke truth.
It was not sugar coated or for the faint of heart. He certainly was not in concern of hurting their feelings, at least not as much as he was more concerned that they turn their full hearts, minds and lives to Christ.
So, I read it again, as if my life were in need of the chapter. As if my life were specifically in need of the receiving this letter in the mail from a leader who was the brother and servant with Christ.
And I thought, whoa, we are not called to be nice but to be helpful. Our helpfulness can be softly spoken with a heart of love, but that does not mean we are to be nice. When I say this, I don’t in any way then attempt to communicate we are to be mean, as mean is the opposite of nice. But in niceness, we lose our ability to be speakers or righteousness.
I am sharing this with you to say that there are enough nice people in the world. Rather than being nice, be helpful, it is likely to be more impactful in the life that needs the message.
