Deal Gone Bad

I talked to a Christian business man (friend of mine) the other day as he vented his frustration. It seems that he had entered into a business deal with another Christian who had then let him down. Without going into a lot of detail I can say that I understand his frustration. The other man (also known to me) had lied from the beginning and tried to back out when confronted. He was definitely in the wrong but denied everything until presented with proof of his dishonesty.

My friend read him the riot act and berated him for his lack of spirituality. He got out his bible and quoted passage after passage to the other man in an attempt to “bring him to his senses.” Of course this didn’t work. The other man will probably remove himself from fellowship with us and leave our group entirely.

I have known them both for quite a while. The second man, while a true believer, has let himself get dragged into some shady business deals and has wandered away from following God as closely as he once did. I (and others) have been gently encouraging him for some time now to renew his commitment. The damage that the first man did may take a long time to heal and will make it much harder for the second man to hear the rest of us encourage him.

We must be careful when dealing with sin in others and try to approach it the way Jesus did. When people stray (as we all do), gentleness and love go much farther in restoring the sinner than condemnation. In almost all cases, the sinner knows that they are wrong and don’t need us to hammer the point home. Gentle reproach mixed with large doses of love and acceptance can guide the sinner to the path of repentance. It is VITAL that we CLEARLY separate the sin from the sinner. While we must not tolerate sin, we almost must not condemn the sinner in the process.

I will continue to reach out to my friend who is very broken right now. At the same time I will love the business man and encourage him to try other methods to communicate his sorrow.