Saying what we really think to those we love is something that our society seems to have become incapable of. We rant when it comes to politics and ideas that we think will harm society, but when it comes down to the people we love, we'd rather just stay friends. We don’t want to say anything that would hurt or offend. We live by the motto “hate the sin, love the sinner.”

You know, it’s probably not just our society, it’s human nature. Nobody wants to hear that what they’re doing is wrong, and nobody wants to become an enemy. And yet, how are we supposed to change? What is true friendship based on? What is the Bible’s take on saying what needs to be said? Are my friends people that I “feel” good around or are they the people who are willing to tell me to my face what I could change?

Not to ignore those who viciously will to hurt. We all have those people in our lives who just rub us the wrong way, who say things just to spite us. And yet being afraid of being labeled “judgmental” should not keep us from being a true friend and saying what needs to be said.

Read more on this topic in Julie Grisolano's "Being Charitable Means Not Always Saying I Love What You're Doing" at Salvo's Signs of the Times blog.