Love Covers

He who covers a transgression seeks love,But he who repeats a matter separates friends.

Proverbs 17:9 (NKJV)

What does that mean? It means it’s easy to love someone who covers your back. So if you want to be loved, be lovable. Look for the best in others because it brings out the best in others. On the other hand, most of us know people who have something bad to say about everybody: a critical spirit, nagging, assuming the worst. It wears you out and drags you down. I think most of us already have this little internal voice that rags at us: You’re a failure. No one needs you. Why can’t you get it right? Come on, my friends, let’s choose to be the voice that says to others, “Hey, you can do it. Try again. I do have confidence in you.”

Now let’s apply this. Did your husband do something stupid? Forget about it! Let that little event be buried, and throw away the shovel. Did your son strike out or fail math? Did your daughter get a fender bender? Did your sister gain a few pounds? Cover their backs. In these things, won’t we just give others a break? Can we be a safety net and soft landing in their times of private pain, problems, and failures?

I just love this definition of a friend: a friend is someone who sees you fail and doesn’t think you’re a failure. Even better, Peter said, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8, NIV).

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

When I forget that I make mistakes too, I am harder on others. Admit it: so are you. Let’s let Jesus set us straight: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? . . . You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:1-3, 5, NIV).

One Year Bible Reading

1 Kings 15:25–17:24; Acts 10:24-48; Psalm 134:1-3; Proverbs 17:9-11