I was at a wedding once talking with an old “friend” I had not seen in a long time. We caught up for 10 to 15 minutes. As that conversation ended, I immediately ran into a close friend of mine. He took one look at me and said, “You’ve got cake on your face.” So I had been standing there talking for all that time with cake on my face and my “friend” never told me. I recently read these Proverbs:

“Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; Profuse are the kisses of an enemy. . . . Oil and perfume make the heart glad, And the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.” Proverbs 27:5-6, 9

How refreshing and comforting it is to have friends in your life who love you enough to tell you the truth. That is the kind of community we have been building in our church. Although one has to be humble enough to accept the truth, I have a sense of security knowing that my church family will not let me wander off to my own destruction.