Admonish without apology

Last night I stayed up until 1:30am because I couldn't sleep, and today I had no energy so I stayed in bed all day.  What was the cause of these strange past 24 hours, you wonder?  This time it wasn't the homesickness.  This time it was genuine stress and concern and frustration with a family member of mine that is making a huge mistake (and could use some prayers, so if you could add this person to your lists of intentions as a "special intention" that would be great!).  I found out some stuff transpiring in this family member's life over the past weekend, and ended up sending this person an email last night to try to bring this person some information and guidance back towards the Church.  Part of me realized this person either (a) wouldn't bother or (b) would get upset (it ended up being a healthy mix of both), but I couldn't just sit by with what was going on.

Why couldn't I just let things be instead of being "that person" that tries to step in and give advice?  At some point while this exchange of words was going on, my mind returned to my favorite Bible verses, 2 Corinthians 5:13-17.  "For if we are out of our minds, it is for God; if we are rational, it is for you. For the love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come."  I always remember it when I want to just ignore something that I know is contrary to my faith.  I don't like to be the one to speak out against things like abortion, same-sex marriage, contraception, fornication, etc. I don't like to be perceived as the bad guy.  All too often, if I'm trying to admonish someone, at the same time it'll sound like an apology:  "I'm sorry to tell you this...it's not really me telling you this, it's the Church...but this is wrong...but don't take it the wrong way..."  NO!  Why do I have to be apologetic about something that needs no apology!  My faith is not something for which I need to make excuses.  Admonishing the sinner is not the same as judging the sinner.  I can give advice and know I'm not doing the wrong thing.  It would be wrong to sit by and pretend to not care..."Silence gives consent."  No, my love of Christ and all He stands for demands action, and sometimes some tough words to go along with them.  And if someone I know who has been brought up in the Faith is acting contrary to the Faith, it is a lie on their part to live in such a manner and it is a lie on my part if I consent to allowing them to live that way, even to participate from a distance by not giving advice. 

That's not to say that I need to present the truth in a harsh manner.  It's definitely possible that at some point I was telling the truth to this person in a judgmental way.  It's hard to tell in the moment.  I do think, though, that we people in general are very sensitive these days, and can take any representation of the truth as being judgmental, especially when directed toward us.  There's a quote that I stumbled upon in the past few months that of course I'm not going to remember at the moment (nor is Google being any help), but Christians must really not be surprised when they are misquoted or misunderstood.  It's just part of what happens in today's world.  The Pope tries to redirect some religious groups in America=war on religious and all that they do.  Pro-lifers want abortion to end=war on women.  Telling someone they're sinning against the Church=judging a person.

So for now I think I've pushed as far as I can with this family member, at least for the time being, but I think it's been a good reminder for me as to how difficult it can be to admonish anybody.  And on the flip side, I think it would be good for me to learn myself to take advice from others when they give it to me with an open heart and open mind and take it to heart to improve myself.