Fundamentals - Culture Of Honor - Part 5

The Four-day Principle - I will not allow any problem I have with you to go unresolved for more than four days. Proverbs 28:13 - “You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it; you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.” Someone may ask, “How did you come up with four days?” Would it not be better to immediately go and approach the other person? In some situations the answer would be yes, but we have discovered that occasionally some people need time to cool down and to process what has transpired. When a few days have passed people generally give the problem to God and are at peace with the situation, or they are in a different frame of mind and are willing to talk without being so emotional. Why four days? In the Scripture when Jesus' friend Lazarus died, Jesus was four days in getting to Lazarus' home. When Jesus and his sisters approached the tomb where Jesus would raise Lazarus from the dead, his sister stated, “He has been dead four days, by now he will have a foul odor." So when things are not dealt with within a few days, they produce a foul odor. This makes it obvious that the problem really needs to be dealt with in order to preserve the friendship. Life can come forth, but holding on unresolved issues for months or even years only damages relationships.Questions To Ponder: How long have you been troubled about this problem? Are you willing to confront in a gentle and peaceable way before the end of four days?