Hi Viola!
Thank you so much for your post. I want to clarify that I am NOT saying at all that being a "Corrector" is somehow bad--God calls people for this very purpose!!! We need Correctors! Everyone, at some point, has to give some kind of correction. But this, to me, yours is an example of how correction was meant to be--in love and with encouragement, NOT a contest of "who has the bigger/better/more valid faith" or "if you disagree with me, I'm going to flood you with Scripture and beat you into the ground, because I can back everything I'm saying with the WORD and you are obviously an ungodly heathen."
THANK YOU for being a GODLY Corrector. Goodness knows we need more of those. You gave an example of what good correction SHOULD be, and I've had plenty of correction in my life--fortunately, much of it was by loving correctors such as you.
The fact is, the very reason I'm writing these threads is because of men who have tried to Scripturally beat me into a pit with their "correction" via private messages. No matter what I answer, they tell me I'm wrong, Spiritually blind, unsubmissive, etc. and quote another passage as to how worldly I am and not needing listening to what they see as their infallible point of view (in other words, "I'm right, you're wrong, and I have the Bible passages here to prove it.")
Some will say I should have kept this all in PM but I find that many abuse such a privilege. I almost always decline to engage in such arguments but one person PMed me back with a quote I had written in a thread saying I will always address questions or accusations people bring against me, implying that I was backing down and running from being questioned.
First of all, I wrote that post in the context of being questioned publicly, not in private messages, because, as I said, there is so much potential for abuse. If I don't address something some asks or brings against me in the forums, it's because I either missed it or have already addressed the issue and do not wish to repeat myself.
So because the implication is that I said I would answer but tried to say, "Let's let it be and go on our separate ways" (even though it's PM's and not in public), here I am, answering, and unfortunately, getting pulled into circular arguments that I despise. I wrote this person back that I'm rather irritated that I feel I'm being bullied into answering pointless questions instead of spending time with my family, but I'm a person of my word, and since he pointed out that I said I would answer (even though it was out of context), here I am.
PM's are not always such a great a idea because if a person who has something against you or your thoughts knows they are talking to you "in private", they will think they have a right to tear you to the ground, especially when they don't know you, which is why I brought this to the public table (and told the person I planned to before I actually did.)
I also firmly believe that NO ONE HERE has to justify or explain why or how they came to conclusion of what their God-given gift is. I would simply suggest that if you have an issue with someone else's gift, please take it to God in prayer instead of verbally tearing the person down. Thanks!
