“A friend is one who warns you” (Arabian Proverb).
TO “ADMONISH” IS TO REPROVE SOMEONE MILDLY OR KINDLY BUT SERIOUSLY. If a friend admonishes you, that means they caution you about your behavior or counsel you against a dangerous course of action. Because it has a distinctly “disciplinary” ring, admonition may not seem like a positive practice — I doubt many would call it an “enthusiastic idea.” However, it’s a better thing than most people suppose. Since success in this life often comes down to whether we’re willing to be warned, being open to admonition is a part of the good life. And as far as our friends are concerned, a faithful friend will admonish us when we need it — in serious cases, even risking the relationship in order to say what we need to hear.
Receiving admonition is certainly not pleasant, and if we judge things solely by whether they make us feel good emotionally, admonition won’t be something we tolerate. But the momentary pain of having it pointed out that we’re headed down the wrong road is worth accepting, simply because it helps us avoid a much greater, and perhaps disastrous, pain later on. As Shakespeare put it, “Better a little chiding than a great deal of heartbreak.”
We need to work on two things: receiving admonition in the proper spirit and giving admonition in the right way. When we’re being warned, we need to hear the admonition with openness, humility, courage, and an eagerness to act on whatever truth we’re hearing. And when we’re the one issuing the warning, we need to do so wisely. It takes good judgment, honest love, and considerable skill to find the balance between courage and kindness, but without that balance, admonitions often do more harm than good.
Whether or not we have friends who’ll admonish us, we all have a conscience, and that’s precisely what our conscience is supposed to do. We need to ensure that our conscience is well-educated and that its warnings are based on truth and reality. But more than that, we need to listen to our conscience. If we don’t, the time will come when it will give up. It will stop trying to get our attention and eventually abandon us. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen.
“If conscience smite thee once, it is an admonition; if twice, it is a condemnation” (Nathaniel Hawthorne).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com
