A Helpful Rebuke

Didn't you treat your sister Sodom as an object of scorn when you were proud, before your wickedness was exposed? Ezekiel 16:5

What a lesson for us all! As soon as we think we're better than another sinner, we set ourselves up for a leveling of sorts. It doesn't mean it's wrong to call a sin a sin but that unless sin is dealt with carefully, we become as bound to sin as the ones we rebuke. 

Sin isn't something to be addressed through manipulation and control. It's to be dealt with boldly, yes, but in humility so that we help one another. If all we're doing is making them defensive, we will never get through to be able to do so and we're missing the very point in rebuking. It's important to approach it understanding that none of us are exempt from committing the same sins as the next person. 

All throughout scripture, pride is the outlet through which sin seems to become mysteriously contagious. Therefore, know your own heart and admit your shortcomings so that you can get the stick out of your own eye before trying to help the next person. Doing it that way certainly changes how you see and treat other sinners and how they respond to you. If you truly want to be close to the Lord, you will have to deal with your own heart before Him- not anyone else's.