A Time to Offer Criticism

You should never feel badly about speaking up when someone or something doesn't sit well with you. Allow me to climb up on the soapbox and explain.

"An open rebuke
is better than hidden love!

Wounds from a sincere friend
are better than many kisses from an enemy." Proverbs 27:5-6

A friend may "love at all times" but a true friend will speak in truth and love. Especially when your actions speak louder than words and your actions hurt someone else.

Yesterday, my 90-year-old mother was having oral surgery. Her regular dentist had to perform a simple procedure before the oral surgeon could proceed with the extraction. Another wisdom tooth was being pulled from mom's mouth. She has kept her "wisdom" for all these years, but this year they have been causing her pain and it was time to let them go.

The first dentist was busy chatting and laughing with clients when we arrived promptly at 7:00 am like we were instructed to do. He allowed us to sit and wait and wait and wait. Meanwhile, I approached the receptionist and said, "We need to be at the hospital no later than 8:30 am - can you please tell him we are waiting not so patiently anymore."

The dentist took my mother into the room but instead of offering her something to numb the pain; he proceeded to drill away, slicing the bridge over the infected wisdom tooth without any medication. My mother was near tears when she returned to me in the waiting room. I was appalled but we left quietly to make the 45 minute drive to the oral hospital.

The end result came when the initial dentist phoned me later in the afternoon to check on my mother's condition. I told him he was too consumed with himself to show compassion for others. I proceeded to spout off that if I had known that he wasn't going to give mom any numbing medication before putting a drill bit in her mouth - he would have never been allowed to do the procedure or lay a single hand upon her.

The dentist never heard a word I said, he was too busy spouting off how he is available for his patients each day of the week, 24 x 7, and how good he is to everyone.

We ended the conversation with me suggesting, "Think upon this - you lost several patients today with your careless actions. I hope you consider compassion the next time around," and hung up the phone.

Hold one another accountable and point out their failures and wrongdoings. They are words that need to be heard even if they are wounding.

"Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.

Sources:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2027:5-6&version=NLT